


Unraveling Fate

by Carter2000



Series: The Fate Saga [1]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 115,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25123822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carter2000/pseuds/Carter2000
Summary: What would you do if you learned that you're whole life was predetermined, that all your victories, triumphs, losses, and tragedies happened simply because they were willed to? Would you accept fate as it is or would you do everything in your power to break free of its grip? When a new enemy threatens the very balance of life, the ninja must face and answer these questions for themselves while battling their own demons. Will the ninja triumph as they always have, or will they finally meet their inevitable failure? Either way, Ninjago will never be the same again.
Relationships: Cole/Zane (Ninjago), Kai/Skylor (Ninjago), Nya/Jay Walker, P.I.X.A.L./Zane (Ninjago)
Series: The Fate Saga [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1819921
Comments: 139
Kudos: 49





	1. Prologue - The calm after the storm

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, welcome to my first work. I'm very exited and nervous at the same time. I'm gonna try to post a chapter per week. I have the story planned out but I don't know how many chapters it'll have. I'm new to writing so please, feel free to correct me over anything you feel isn't done properly.  
> This story is a bit more mature. The ninja are young adults (around age 24) so there'll be more mature topics like sex. also the violence will show injuries. It won't be like Kill Bill, but it'll be more than just knock out punches. Other than that, I'm gonna try to stay as true to the characters as I can, let me know if you feel that i'm failing at that. This story is set after season 12. the story will reference events from the first 12 seasons but you don't necessarily need to watch the whole show to understand the story, just the general plots. I'm just gonna say that it's been about 10 years since the first season. the designs will be the season 8+ designs. I know, I know, but trust me. It'll pay off in the Loooong run.  
> And now I have a question for you, I've never engaged in sexual activities but plan on including some form of a sex scene. Would you prefer that I tried write the scene as real as possible, or would you rather I allude to sex scene that happen away from the prying eyes of the reader?  
> -I hope you enjoy!

The night after the Overlord’s first defeat

Cole took a swig of his celebratory drink and looked at Ninjago City’ skyline. The city lit up with glee in the nighttime. She was so beautiful when she wasn’t being overrun by hundred foot snakes, invincible stone armies, and the literal Overlord of darkness.  
He looked at the city reminiscing about nothing in particular. Cole observed the various parties, and their dancing attendees, below him and thought back to childhood. He thought of all the dance practices his dad made him do, the all nighters he’d pull with his friends, his first date, and his high school. Cole thought of all the people who lived these same life experiences in the city. Even though he did not grow up here, Cole understood why the citizens stayed loyal to Ninjago City. Despite all of its dangers, it was their home, and it needed to be protected.  
it ‘s what pushed him to train everyday and fight every fight as if it was his last. Funny thing is that when he and the other ninja first started training, Cole expected to be fighting bank robbers and tax evaders. While Cole knew that Ninjago rarely lacked excitement, he was never prepared for the skeletons, the snakes, or the Overlord.  
It was hard to believe that just yesterday the city was completely engulfed in darkness, Cole and all of his friends were reduced to mere dark versions of themselves. Now the darkness was supposedly gone and the city was full of life again. While the city would need to rebuild tomorrow, tonight was a citywide celebration of the overlord’s defeat.  
Cole guzzled on his sparkling cider. He used to prefer Corona as his drink of choice but the last couple of times it made him sick, so he switched it out for cider. Besides, ninja aren’t supposed to drink alcohol as it cuts into their uber healthy lifestyle. He shifted in his chair, which was seated at the edge of the bounty, the ninja’s flying ship which was hovering above the city. There was an empty chair to his right but Cole figured that the other ninja were talking amongst themselves.  
Cole decided to steal a glance at the other heroes on the deck of the Bounty. He looked behind his left shoulder to see Lloyd and Garmadon talking whilst Misako and Wu were having their own conversation. Cole had to admit that seeing Garmadon at peace was not something he ever expected. How was he going to get used to looking at the man who had tried so many times to kill him and his friends and not throw him in a cell? Garmadon’s actions weren’t his fault though, it was a result of the evil that coursed, or, used to course through his body. Now that evil was purged. Mabey Garmadon should get a chance to be the good person he now claims to be. Besides, Cole thought, Lloyd had finally gotten his father back, and if anyone deserves to be reunited with their parents, it was Lloyd. He saved everyone and beat the manifestation of pure evil alone. Cole had no idea how someone could have the strength to do that, but Lloyd did it. So if Lloyd wanted to keep his newly de-vilified dad around, who was Cole to stop him?  
Then there was Wu and Miskao. It was painfully obvious to everyone else that those two had cared about each other in a romantic way. While he figured that Wu would be happy with Misako, Cole knew that was never gonna happen. Wu had too much respect for Garmadon to move in on his brother’s wife. Cole wondered how much Misako still loved Garmadon, did she love him when he was a four armed freak? Was she still attracted to him when he transformed? Cole quickly left that train of thought and checked over his right shoulder towards Nya, Kai, and Jay.  
Jay was flirting with Nya in his own energetic way while Kai was teasing them both. Cole considered Jay his best friend but couldn’t help but wonder what Nya saw in him. Jay was overly energetic, loud, and talkative. They were his best and worst qualities. It didn’t seem like Nya would be attracted to someone so… spontaneous. But their fledgling romance wasn’t any of his business, even If he could see why Jay was interested in Nya. She was smart, aggressive, and independent yet kind and compassionate at the same time.  
Kai was clearly the third wheel and yet he refused to move to a more inclusive group. Maybe he was making sure Jay didn’t try anything with Nya, maybe Kai just wanted to make sure his sister was safe and doing well. Nya had been under the Overlord’s influence longer than any of them and there was no way of knowing if any long term effects would occur. Whatever the case, they all seem to be enjoying each other’s company.  
Cole sipped on his cider and gazed to the right of Kai, Nya, and Jay and found the last group on the bounty, Zane and his dad, Dr. Julian.  
Dr. Julian, the newest edition to the team, was certainly worth his while. He wasn’t wasn’t Zane's biological dad but he built him all the same. He was your typical old man and a pure genius at the same time. He’d be vital to rebuilding the city.  
Then there was Zane. Zane always left Cole with a feeling of turmoil. Zane was his friend, his figurative brother, along with the other ninja. He’s also a nindroid ( a ninja android), though you wouldn’t be able to tell unless you played close attention. His movements were always a little too perfect, he fought in a very automated fashion, and he always looked at the world with an analytical perspective. Zane does everything with a little automation. Not everything was completely automated, it was just robotic enough that you could tell if you watched for it.  
But Zane wasn’t just a robot, he was human too, well Cole liked to think that Zane had some humanity in him. It wasn’t that he had a problem with Zane being a nindroid, he just really liked Zane. Before he met Zane, Cole would have never guessed that something or someone so advanced could have been created. It made him wonder how much of Zane was programmed. Was his skin real tissue and skin cells, was it synthetic skin, or was it just metal designed to look like skin? What about his intelligence? Does Zane actually have to learn new information and skills or does he have to pretend? How old was Zane? Would you count that age based on intelligence or the year he was made? Was he programmed to act a certain age? Would Zane technically be considered a minor?  
Cole decided to ignore the implications of that line of thought and move on to his most troubling question, does Zane have genuine emotions? Is he capable of love and hate? That question seems to always bother Cole. It could be speculated that Zane was nothing more than an emotionless robot, but that’s not how Cole saw him. Cole saw Zane as kind, compassionate, strong, smart, and so many other things that Cole didn’t have enough time to list. Maybe that's why he felt overwhelmed every time he looked at Zane, there was so much about Zane he enjoyed that he couldn’t focus on one specific aspect. It made him feel flustered and the only times Cole got flustered like this were during his few ill fated relationships. But that wasn’t to say that he liked Zane, Cole was straight, definitely the straightest one on the team. That didn’t stop him from admitting that Zane was attractive, probably more so than Nya, but that was just a complement and nothing more.  
The sudden explosion of fireworks pulled Cole from falling further down the Zane rabbit hole and again he admired the beauty of the city. He peered into the city skyline, wondering where his father was. Cole had called his dad earlier to make sure he was ok after the Overlord’s defeat. In his state of concern Cole made the mistake of promising to visit his dad soon. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy being around his dad, but he didn’t want to spend all of his time talking about dancing. Cole’s childhood was all about dancing competitions and a longing to do something else. Cole didn’t have the same passion for dancing that his father, it used to cause a lot of tension between the two of them. Though if his dad kept his promise to not make the whole conversation about dancing, Cole could put equal effort to take an interest in his dad. Cole took another sip of his cider and resolved to see his dad tomorrow.  
Now that he thought about it, Cole found it funny that his dad put him through years of dancing only for him to become a ninja and excel due to his years of footwork and balance. Guess it was just fate.  
Cole finished his cider and put the glass behind his chair. Then he sat back in his chair, crossed his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes to listen to the ambiance of the city. He figured he should mingle with the others but honestly, he was too tired. Cole loved to socialize with his friends but also enjoy his bouts of solitude and right now, he was perfectly content with his seclusion. 

“Pardon me Cole, but is this spot occupied?”

Cole’s heart faltered as he recognized that voice. He didn’t know if he should be happy that Zane wanted to talk to him or mad for having his seclusion ruined. What he did know was that he started sweating, his heart rate picked up, his fingers were ever so slightly shaking, and he was fighting tooth and nail to stop his mouth from grinding wildly. Cole had to calm himself down before even trying to answer Zane. So he gave a short pause and took a deep breath before responding.

“Nah, it’s all yours”, Cole replied, waving his hand over to the chair on his right.

“Neat, thank you.” Zane started to sit down only to pause after observing Cole’s relaxed position. “Cole, I am not being a nuisance am I? I can leave if you desire so.”

“No”, Cole half lied, “you’re not bothering me at all.” 

Zane sat down in the chair and took a relaxed breath. That’s another thing that bewildered Cole, was that genuine breathing or simply something Zane did to feel more human? Cole tried not to think about it too much to avoid triggering a philosophical crisis. 

“You know–” Zane sat up and faced his chair towards Cole– “There’s talk of Cyrus Borg being hired to rebuild the technological infrastructure of the city.”

“Really? That’s cool, Ninjago City’s gonna get quite the upgrade.” Cole turned his head and looked towards Zane. 

Cole was about to ask Zane a question about the city when he felt a buzz in his pants. Cole saw that pulled out his phone and saw a message from his dad asking about plans for a potential dinner. Cole responded readily and turned to Zane who was staring into the city horizon, clearly in deep thought. 

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Cole shyly asked.

“Affirmative, the city is quite exquisite”, Zane replied in a direct manner.

Cole was on edge. He knew that this was just small talk but he was slowly dying on the inside, he was never good at talking to people. Cole wasn’t saying that Zane was making him nervous, but if the conversation was with literally anyone else, he wouldn’t be as inclined to throw himself off the flying boat. No, he couldn’t think like that. Besides, Cole’s nerves only got racked up for people he cherished, and that list did not include Zane. So why was he so nervous right now? Cole decided to test his luck and start a conversation 

“So...how’s your dad doing?”

Zane turned left to face Cole, a slight level of discomfort on his face and Cole was worried that he might have brought up the wrong topic.

“He is doing well.” Zane cautiously answered “We are going to catch up over the next couple of days and examine plans to upgrade parts of the bounty.” 

“Oh, well that’s cool.” Cole encouraged.

“Yes… I supposed it is”, Zane wondered aloud.

Cole raised an eyebrow at that response. Was Zane having trouble with his father? Zane certainly seemed distracted by it, he had turned his head back towards the city. Zane looked at the city but was clearly focused on other concerns. Cole knew that Zane had his memory restored so it wasn’t a lack of familiarity. Then what could it be? Cole knew that Zane’s possible father issues were none of his business but he also knew that he wanted to help his friend if he needed it, regardless of his personal feelings. 

“Hey Zane, Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” Zane softly replied, though it was clear that he had more to say.

“Zane–” Cole sat up in his chair to face his friend–”you’re my friend and you don’t have to talk about whatever’s bothering you but I'm here if you do want to talk about it. I won’t tell anyone else about it, I promise.” 

Cole saw Zane narrow his eyes and look down while briefly debating his offer before taking a deep breath and speaking. 

“He is not my father, is he?’ Zane questioned in a downhearted manner. He turned to face Cole with a straight face. 

“What?” Cole softly asked, clearly being caught off guard by that question.

“I am aware that he is my creator, but that is not necessarily the same as a father,” Zane somberly started, “I know that he raised me similar to how most other fathers raise their children but that was before I lost my memories and thought I was human. Before he turned off my memory, I always knew I was a nindroid. The difference was that I had no experience with human relationships. Then I lost my memories and saw myself as just another human.”

Zane paused and stared at Cole silently asking him if he still wanted to listen. Cole nodded his head approvingly. Zane considered abandoning the conversation before proceeding.

“Before I had become acquainted with you guys, I had no perspective on life other than serving my programmed purpose of helping others who couldn’t help themselves. But then we met and formed into a family, and I finally understood the complexity of true emotions. Love, friendship, anger, and loneliness, I developed these emotions, along with countless others. I did not just feel human, I was human. Even after regaining my memories, I still thought of myself as more than just a robot, I was alive, I had found my humanity. I had people I cared about, loved even. I still seek to help others, but now it is because I chose to and not just because of my programming.  
Now I have him again. I understand that we are not father and son in the same way you and your father are, and that knowledge of not having true parentage is... disheartening. I still feel as though he and I are close but deep down, I know that he is another reminder that i’m still just a machine pretending to be human.” Zane finished speaking his thoughts and then turned away from Cole, and looked out to the night sky, clearly not relaxed.

Cole didn’t know what to say. He’d seen Zane question his humanity before, but never on this level. But did he really see himself as nothing more than a machine? Cole knew that Zane had a bit of an existential crisis when he first learned of his robotic origins, but he’d have never guessed that his self doubt went this deep. Didn’t Zane understand that machines don’t think this deeply? Cole knew that he needed to say something but he was never good at these talks. Cole was very much a ‘go with the flow’ person and didn’t exactly excel at comforting people. It wasn’t because he didn’t care, he just wasn’t good with feelings. Ok, he could do this, he just needed to address and validate Zane’s concerns. 

“I...i’m so sorry Zane, I had no idea that you felt that way.”

Zane glanced at Cole before looking down at his feet. Cole decided to keep talking.

“I’m not even gonna pretend to understand what you’re going through. What can tell you is that you’re just as human as the rest of us... Zane look at me, please.” Cole got up and walked over to Zane. He then got on his knees and lightly grasped Zane’s arm. Zane reluctantly shifted towards Cole

“Zane you are so much more than just a machine. You love swimming, and cooking, and chess, and reading, and so many other things that no robot would be able to love doing. You are the kindest, smartest, and most loyal person i have ever met and none of that is because of your programming. The other ninja and I, we see you as our brother, not a robot.  
And as for your dad, yes you and him don’t exactly fit the typical biological connection, but that doesn’t change anything. I know tons of people with step-dads and adoptive dads so there’s nothing to be ashamed of. The biology isn’t what matters, what matters is the fact that he raised you and clearly wants to have a relationship with you and isn’t that all that matters?”

Cole really hoped that helped ease some of Zane’s concerns, though judging by his face, Cole wasn't entirely convincing. Maybe he should try to be more personal. Cole stood up and offered his hand to Zane before continuing his attempts at comforting his friend.

“You have every right to question yourself, it’s a very human thing to do. The fact that you have these concerns at all proves that you have your humanity. You’re perfect just the way you are and none of us would trade you for anything”

Zane looked up at Cole, not entirely convinced but relieved anyway. He took Cole’s hand and allowed himself to be pulled up on his feet. Now with both teens standing. Cole looked directly into Zane’s eyes.

“You”– Cole placed his hand on Zane’s shoulder –”are the most special person in my life. Don’t ever forget that.”

Zane looked at Cole’s hand on his shoulder and then at Cole himself. It seemed as if Zane was connecting dots before abandoning those thoughts in favor of hugging Cole. 

“Thank you Cole, I really needed that,” Zane admitted with his eyes closed.

Cole embraced his friend back and was surprised by how warm Zane was. He also recognized that he felt Zane's electrical power core pulse in rhythm while his own heart jumped all over the place, clearly not used to the physical contact. Cole internally groaned in disgust with himself. His friend was looking for comfort after admitting his insecurities and all Cole could focus on was making sure that his little guy didn’t get too excited. Cole tried to just focus on responding to Zane.

“Of course, buddy. I'm here anytime you need me.”

“Thank you,” Zane responded, “you’re a really good friend.”

Though he was trying to show his appreciation, Zane’s comment was like a headshot to Cole and he wished that he had that Corona after all.


	2. The Interview

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja go on an interview to let their fans get to know them better. It doesn't go well....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was way harder to write than I expected. I tried to represent each character with their real personality while also hinting at more mature depths. I still am having a little trouble with Nya and Lloyd, but i'll figure it out. 
> 
> I'll try to update every Monday but if I happen to finish a chapter earlier i'll add it on Sunday. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Present day

“Good Evening Ninjago City! This is the Late Night Show with Kennidy Kurrent, I’m your host, Kennedy Kurrent, keeping it current with all the latest drama you could get your greedy little fingers on.   
Be on the lookout people, for tonight we have some very special guests! We’ll be interviewing the Ninja of Ninjago city themselves! That’s right folks we’ll be getting all the facts. Who likes and dislikes each other? Have old flames really died out? How many secrets do these ninja keep? How many can we expose? Yes folks, we’ll be answering all these questions and more. But first a question.  
Do you ever tire of seeing the same boring exhibits at that run down museum? Does your heart long for new discoveries to be put on display? Well your heart doesn’t have to yearn anymore with the introduction of the museum’s new Dimensional exhibit. This project will educate you on the various realms that we hold knowledge of. And to celebrate this bold new direction, the museum will be hosting a gala event exactly one weeks from now at 7 p.m. Don’t be late! We’ll be right back after a few messages from our sponsors so don’t go anywhere folks!” 

“We’re on break!” an unknown director shouted at Kennedy.

Kennedy turned away from the T.V cameras towards his interviews with a wide smile. He was at the very front of the stage and turned around to see the set. To the very right of the set was his desk that he sat at while doing his interviews. To the left of the desk were the ninja sitting in identical white couches. The ninja were seated from left to right in the following order; Zane, Cole, Nya, Jay, Kai, and Lloyd. All the male ninja were wearing the same suit. the only difference between them was that they wore the same color tie as their ninja outfits, Jay's tie was blue, Kai’s was red, etc. Nya was wearing a silk gown that was colored ice blue, like water. Figures that the water ninja would have a water-like gown. Kennedy strolled up to the ninja to make sure they were ready for tonight's show...and all the questions he had for them.  
Lloyd watched as Kennedy walked towards them with his unnaturally wide smile. Lloyd did not trust him. Kennedy was not the nice person he claimed to be, he was a businessman who set out to make money off of people’s needs to be nosy. Lloyd couldn't blame them though, even he had his guilty pleasures. But that didn’t change the fact that Lloyd was suddenly not so confident about this interview.   
Lloyd thought of how Dareth had convinced them that this interview was a good idea. ‘Let the people get to know you’ he said. At the time it seemed like a pretty cool idea, now, not so much. Lloyd liked to see the good in people and while Kennedy wasn’t evil, his motivations were definitely not limited to showing the personal side of the ninja.   
Lloyd looked to his right at the other ninja. Jay and Kai were smiling towards and interacting with the audience, clearly enjoying their fans and fame. Zane had his neutral face on and waited for the interview to start. He also was camouflaged as a human. Nya was waiting for the interview to start and holding Jay’s hand. She didn’t look uncomfortable but she clearly would have preferred to be anywhere else. Lloyd himself looked to the positive of this interview; they could possibly gain support from their fans and maybe even some sponsors. Cyrus Borg was a great help to them but they didn’t always need cutting edge technology.   
Lloyd noticed Kennedy walking up to himself and the ninja and directed his focus to him. 

“How are my stars doing,” Kennedy started, “Are we all excited for this interview? I know I am!” 

“Oh I have a question!” Jay stated while raising his hand, “What do you mean by ‘secrets’? What about ‘old flames’, are you trying to spill some secrets that we supposedly have? Also is there any food around here cause man am I hungry! Also do we g– “

“We’re good, thank you Kennedy”, Nya interrupted while covering her fiance’s mouth 

“No, Jay’s got a point”, Kai said

“Yeah, where do we get food?” Cole questioned, “I’ve been hungry all day!”

“No, not that”, Kai retorted, “You made a big scene about ‘exposing our secrets’–” Kai formed finger quotes as he said that phrase “–as if we have any secrets to expose. How the hell do we know that you’re not going to put words into our mouths?”

The rest of the ninja looked at Kennedy waiting for an answer. Kennedy didn’t know if these ninja were smart or just paranoid. He wasn’t trying to ruin their lives, he just wanted to expose a little drama. After all, his show still needed ratings. Still, He had to reassure them that no one was going to put the ninja in a bad light, so he responded.

“Listen Kia, can I call you Kai?”

“Actually no, you can’t ca–”, Kai started before being interrupted

“Listen Kai, I like you guys, the whole city adores you! And they want to get to know you better. Look, I'll level with you. We’re gonna ask some personal questions. They’re not intended to make you guys seem suspicious or fishy. We have an audience that just wants to get to know you better, what’s so bad about that?” 

Kennedy smiled at Kai waiting for a response when the workers called for 30 seconds until the start of the interview.

“Well”, Kennedy started, “This is it! Good luck you guys.” Kennedy then walked back to his seat and beamed towards the cameras as the show came back from it’s break.

“Welcome back my beloved friends! As previously stated by yours truly, the ninja are here for a special interview”, Kennedy waved his hand showcasing the ninja to the audience, who responded with applause and fangirl screaming, “Yes, yes I know you’re excited so let’s get this show on a roll!”

Kennedy focused his attention on Lloyd while the audience died down. Lloyd looked back at Kennedy, waiting for his questions about his father.

“Welcome Lloyd, thank you for showing up and might I say, –” Kennedy gave Lloyd and the other ninja a once over “– you ninja sure do look fine today.”

Kennedy received a round of applause from the audience.

“Thank you”, Lloyd responded, “You look nice as well and thank you for having us.”

“So Lloyd, you’re pretty much the leader of the ninja. What’s that like? Who would you say was the best and worst of ninja?”

“Well we all have our own strengths and weaknesses so I wouldn’t say that any one is better or worse than each other. And As the leader role, it’s just having more responsibility. Luckily for me, I have a pretty good team to rely on.”

“Right, right. So I understand that your team is almost on equal footing. But you’re the green ninja, so that, by default, makes you the best of the bunch. But, just for fun, if you weren’t the green ninja, which ninja do you think would take your place?

“You know, I honestly wouldn’t know. It’s like I said before, we’re all pretty on par with each other so it could be any of them. And besides, being the green ninja doesn’t put me above any of them.”

Lloyd wondered how the rest of the interview was going to go if all the questions were this personal. He was great at giving neutral answers, the other ninja, not so much, excluding Zane. 

“So you’re telling me that you honestly have no idea which of the ninja is the best?” Kennedy chided, “If that’s the case, then for a supposed Sensi-in-training, you’re not very good at recognizing the best fighter from the bunch.”

Kennedy looked at Lloyd who was not amused by the statement and decided to add to his comment.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding! We all know that you are a great leader. Let us move on to your final question. Lloyd, we all know that your dad isn’t exactly the best role model. True he did save Ninjago City from the great devourer, but he also took over the city and established a totalitarian state. So my question for you, Lloyd, is what stops you from following down the path of evil like your dad did?

Lloyd wasn’t shocked that Kennedy brought up his father, but was still hurt nonetheless. Lloyd’s father was a soft spot for him. Lloyd hated how everyone hung Garmadon over his head, as if Lloyd would inevitably become evil because his father was forced to do so.

“I’m not my father. I fight for the greater good.”

“Your dad did so at one point too”, Kennedy pointed out, “I’m just saying that there’s nothing stopping you from going down that path.”

Lloyd glared at Kennedy, how dare he accuse him of becoming his father. Lloyd helped save the world countless times. And Kennedy had the guts to treat him as a threat? And to make things worse, Kennedy talks of his father as if he knew him. Why? How did he even know that his father used to be a good man? Lloyd didn’t want to respond, luckily, Kai was already there to back him up.

“What the hell is wrong you man?” Kai challenged, “Lloyds saved the world countless times and you really have the balls to challenge him? That’s bullshit.”

“Kai, I ask that you please refrain from using vulgarity while on air. Besides it’s time for your questions”

“I don’t think so”, Kai started before looking at Lloyd, who was silently telling him not to worry about the questions. Kai sighed and responded, “Fine, let’s just get this over with.”

“Great! So Kai...It’s no secret that you get around a lot.”

Despite his anger about Kennedy’s treatment of lloyd, Kai couldn’t help but blush

“So my question for you, Kai, why so many hook-ups?” questioned Kennedy.

“I don’t know...I guess I just –”

“Just having fun with your female fans?” Kennedy interrupted, “Look, i’m not judging you Kai, I merely want to know why?”

“I’d rather not talk about this, besides, every time has been consensual with no strings attached,” Kai’s face was burning red, and not just out of anger. He continued to talk in the heat of the moment, “What’s your point anyway? I didn’t think that you were so desprate to expose other people’s sex lives. What’s the matter, Kennedy, not getting enough action with your wife?” 

“Oh!”, the audience replied to Kai’s comeback.

“Kai, let's get back on topic”, Kennedy commented, taking control of the situation, “If you don’t want to talk about your hook-ups, I won’t question it. Next question, Have you had any thoughts of settling down with some lucky girl? 

“Nah, I’m not really looking into relationships at the moment.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not ready for one.”

“But it seems that you are Kai”, Kennedy challenged, “It’s no secret that you’ve been visiting Skylor recently and I hardly believe that she's the type of girl to be friends with benefits with.”

Kai formed a slight scowl at that comment. How did Kennedy know about him and Skylor? 

“Skylor and I are friends, nothing more, nothing less”

Kai hoped that statement would be enough to stop Kennedy’s questions about him and Skylor even though he knew that it wouldn’t satisfy the asshole’s questions.

“Kai, we both know that’s not true, or at least that's how you want your relationship with her to be.”

“And you’re so sure of that how?” Kai challenged

“A little birdie told me”, Kennedy retorted “They also implied that you’re too immature to start a relationship”.

Kai scoffed at that last comment. “I mean, i’m no Lloyd, but I can be mature when I want to.

“And speaking of Lloyd, you to are very close together”

“What?”, Kai agrressivley asked, “Are you going to ask if we’re secretly gay for each other or something?

“No, that question will come later.” Kennedy laughed, “I’m merely saying that you two are really close, which is ironic considering that you used to really want to be the green ninja”.

Kai reminisced back to the days when he saw Lloyd as a bratty little shit and smirked.

“Yeah, I feel it’s safe to say that we’re great friends”

Lloyd looked at Kai with a smile on his face. 

“So my last question for you kai is do you ever feel that you were too immature or not good enough to be the green ninja? And do you think that Lloyd took your rightful mantle?”

“Wow, you seem really egar to fuck up my relationship with Lloyd”, Kai stated, “Lloyd is the green ninja, he inherited it but also proved, time and time again, that he deserves to the green ninja. I couldn’t be more proud of him for it.”

“AW!” the audience responded, and now it was Lloyd’s turn to blush. 

“I don’t know if I’m good enough to be the green ninja, I'm definitely not mature enough. But that doesn’t matter because i’m the fire ninja”.

“Well, thank you for your response Kai”, Kennedy started, “Now we’re going to have a chat with Jay!”   
The audience roared with a few noticeable fan girl cheers.

“Yay”, Jay nervously exclaimed.

“So Jay, first of all, Congratulations on the engagement. I know it happened a while ago, but better late than never.”

“Gosh, thanks Kennedy,” Jay said while stretching behind his ear, “I gotta say, I feel like the luckiest guy on the planet.” 

Jay looked at Nya while ignoring the response of the audience. He truly did feel like the luckiest guy with her, he constantly tried to show her that. Nya smiled at him, reciprocating the same love for him.

“Okay tiger,” Kennedy interrupted, “keep it in your pants. I’ve still got some questions for you to answer.”

Jay turned from his fiance to face Kenndy. he wasn’t pleased what so ever with how the interviewer threw Lloyd’s old man into his face or how he tried to shame Kai for living a harmless sex life. Jay wanted no part of this interview, and neither did any of the other ninja. Unlike the other ninja, however, Jay spent time in show business after Zane’s death. He knew that if the ninja turned on Kennedy, they would be seen as the sensitive haters. Plus he likes the attention, sue him. So he flashed the biggest smile he could muster and waited Kennedy’s questions. 

“So Jay, any wedding plans?”

“Oh, we have so many plans! Nya and I were debating the wedding venue, like do we want to white? Or should we do blue? Then we still have to decide the food, which is very important because Cole literally threatened to not show up to the wedding depending on the type of food we have. And then we still need to find the perfect cake, Nya needs to find her dress even though she looks perfect in anything. We also need to arrange invitations, especially for my parents because my god do they love to be treated specially, love you ma! Speaking of which, we also need to book the hotel and decide what music and what color scheme we want to do and –”

“OK, Ok!” Kennedy interrupted, “I get it. You’re excited about your wedding.” 

Jesus christ, Kennedy knew that Jay was talkative but damn, he just refused to shut up.

“Anyways, is there any advice you could give on keeping a healthy relationship?

Jay scratched behind his ear while ignoring Nya’s starring while forming his response, “I would say, the three biggest things would be respect, honesty, and communication. You gotta treat your partner as a person, with love and compassion, but you also have to recognize that they’re their own person. For the love god, don’t lie to them, it ends badly. And talk with them about your relationship, problems, and all the other good stuff.”

Nya smiled and nodded in approval and Jay subtly let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Jay wasn’t afraid of Nya but planning the wedding had been stressful on both of them. He and Nya had both put in effort to relax each other (baths, rubs, etc.) and Jay filed his answer under the “relaxed” category. 

“That’s some mighty fine advice Jay”, Kennedy replied, “So...it’s no secret that you and Cole recently had a scuffle over Nya–”

“Pfft, yeah, like what, 9 years ago?”Jay interrupted. “Cole, Nya, and I made up a long time ago.”

“So you and Cole are still friends?”

“The best!”

“Hmm, and there’s no worry about Cole and Nya getting together? No secret love triangles forming?” Kennedy asked suspiciously. 

Cole and Nya both looked at the interviewer with contempt, Cole was more annoyed and Nya was more frustrated.

“No, we’re all good. Although, Cole does need to stop eating my pudding cups!” Jay directed his comments towards Cole.

“It was one time. One!” Cole responded. He was followed by the uproar of laughter from the audience. 

“Ok Jay, one more question,” Kennedy started, “Would you say that you’re too impulsive?”

“Well that question came from nowhere. I would say–” Jay started before fully processing the question, “–wait what?”

“Do you think you’re too impulsive?”

“Well I don’t know that I'd say I'm impulsive. I.. I mean, I have moments of acting without thinking, but I wouldn’t say my impulsiveness is bad.”

“Didn’t you release a djinn that almost destroyed ninjago, get Nya killed, and release a sentient game that attacked the city?” Kennedy asked

For the first time in the interview, Jay’s smile wavered. Since when did Kennedy know about Nadakhan? Jay had reset the timeline and only he and Nya should remember it. There’s no way that Kennedy should have gotten that info. Jay briefly glanced at Nya who was trying to hide her own concern. Her eyes met him and they silently agreed to discuss it later. That didn’t stop Jay from nervously sweating or tapping his fingers on the armchair. Jay decided to play dumb so he could get through this inteveiw.

“Hahaha...what's a djinn?”

“A wish granting being, his name was Nadakhan ” Kennedy answered without skipping a beat. 

Shoot. Ok, Jay had to not freak out. He probably told someone on accident, but he only remembered telling the ninja. So who else had been there during that meeting.

“Jay, are you paying attention?” Kennedy asked while interrupting Jay’s thinking.

Jay flashed his t.v. smiled and ignored his sweaty palms, “I’m s...s… I apologize Kennedy, what were you saying?”

“I was saying that you, Jay Walker, have repeatedly put the world in jeopardy with your impulsiveness. What do you have to say to that?”

“I’ve made...i’ve made mistakes, i’m not gonna lie.” Jay’s leg started shaking, he felt his heart rate going up. Oh god, he didn’t want to deal with this. He knew that he was responsible for Nadakhan and Unagami’s reign of terror. He felt the weight of those mistakes everyday, and some nights as well. Jay suddenly felt Nya grab his hand. She gently comforted him by rubbing her thumb over his thumb. Jay intern, squeezed her hand and took a deep breath. He just needed to get through this interview. Jay turned to face Kennedy with a smile and realized that he didn’t even stop smiling during his little freakout. 

“I’ve made mistakes, and I've learned from them. I never intentionally tried to hurt anyone.”

“That’s it?” Kennedy interrogated, “that’s all you’ve got to say?”

“Yes, that’s all I have to say,” Jay responded while nervously laughing.

“...Ok, well folks, Jay walker everyone!” Kennedy waved his hand at Jay before looking at Nya, “Now, let’s focus Nya.”

The audience applauded with excited, the women in particular were clearly eager to see Nya 

“Nya, you have a very beautiful dress tonight,” Kennedy offered.

Nya rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed with Kennedy’s fake kindness. She was still rubbing Jay’s thumb and trying not to kill him for attacking Jay like that. 

“Thanks,” Nya coldly replied. 

“So, congratulations on the engagement. Any kids anytime soon?”

Nya narrowed her eyes at him. She wanted to be anywhere else but here. She honestly didn’t know how Dareth managed to convince them to do this interview. She just wanted to stay home and honestly, do anything else but this. Now this bitch was asking her about kids? Nya wasn't about to let that slide

“Why didn’t you ask Jay about kids?” Nya challenged

“Because I asked Jay about his impulsiveness,” Kennedy replied, “Why are you trying to create conflict when i’m just trying to help your fans get to know you? 

Nya raised an eyebrow. Kennedy was using her fans against her. If Nya was in a better mood, she’d give him kudos. But she wasn’t in a good mood. Nya felt her frustration penting up inside her. It was her reminder that she was Kai’s sister, and they both had their father’s temper. Nya knew that there was no point in arguing anyways, she was playing by Kennedy’s rule. 

“No, we haven’t thought about it.”

Nya saw as Kennedy stared at her while she responded, he was clearly in deep thought before widening his eyes and smiling as if he just formed an idea. 

“So Kai–” Kennedy eagerly turned to Kai who clearly didn’t want to talk to him “–how does it feel knowing that Jay’s most likely gonna be the father of your niece or nephew?”

Kai’s eyes widened as if he’d never thought of that idea before. He started to grimace before realizing that all eyes, including Nya and Jay’s, were on him. 

“I wouldn’t be against it.” Kai said while smiling.

“Your expressions tell a different story Kai,” Kennedy retorted.

Jay laughed with the audience. But Nya knew from the tapping of his fingers on his chair that Jay was feeling very awkward. He wasn't the only one, Kai’s face burned red.

“So Nya,” Kennedy started, “as mentioned earlier, you were in quite the triangle with Cole and Jay. So the question is what made you choose Jay or Cole?”

The audience silenced almost immediately at the question. 

“I didn’t choose either of them at the time. When Jay and I got together, it was 3 years later and under completely different circumstances. Cole and Jay both family and they mean everything to me. But there was no ‘choosing one over the other’.”

Kennedy smirked at Nya, “I don’t know if I completely buy that but ok. Next question, who’s the top in the relationship?”

Nya was caught off guard by the question, “Excuse me?”

“Like, who’s the dominant one. You or Jay?”

“I’m not answering that.”

“Really?”

“Yes, i’m not answering that question.”

“And you wonder why you’re not the favored ninja,” Kennedy muttered under his breath. He was quite enough that the audience didn’t hear, but loud enough that the ninja did. 

Nya felt her frustration rapidly increasing. She took a couple of deep breaths and felt Jay rubbing his thumb along her thumb. 

“Next question, Why are you always so angry?”

“I don’t know, but being on a show with a pretentious host isn’t helping.” Nia retorted. 

“Ha ha,” Kennedy amused, “I’m talking about you in general. I mean it’s no secret that you’ve been progressively been getting more aggressive with the criminals that you face? What’s the matter, afraid of getting hurt?”

“No, I'm just making sure that the bad guys know that crime doesn’t pay.”

“So it’s not because you fear getting hurt?”

“No”.

“Ok,” Kennedy stated, clearly not being convinced, “well last question Nya,” Kennedy started, “Who would you say is your favorite ninja?”

“Kai,” Nya said with no hesitation, “That was your last question for me right? Or are you going to try to create more scenarios that involve fake love triangles? 

Kai tried to hide it, but Nya could see her brother’s elation at being labeled as her favorite ninja, she knew she’d come to regret that later.

Kennedy beamed at the audience but recognized that Nya had one this round. Kennedy decided to take the 

“Ok folks, that was Nya, let’s move onto Cole!”

Nya watched as Cole gave a bashful smile and...wait, is he trying to do the “screwing the light bulb” wave? Oh god, how did some who’s whole childhood consisted of being on stage not knowing how to wave properly. Nya grinned, she loved Cole’s awkwardness. Jay however, would have a stroke at Cole’s lack of stage presence. Or, he would if he was fine, and Jay wasn’t fine at the moment, Nya would have to check on him later. For now, she focused on Cole’s interview.

“So how are we doing tonight Cole?” Kennedy asked.

“Not too bad, you?” Cole responded

“I’m great. So Cole, did you know that there are rumors about you?

Cole arched an eyebrow, “No, no I didn't.”

“Well–” Kennedy leaned forward, which was mirrored by Cole leaning back in his chair, “–There are rumours that you have a crush on a certain nindroid”. Kennedy nodded his head towards Zane.

“What? No I don’t!” Cole asserted before realizing that his response was a little too loud. He lowered his voice before continuing, “I like Zane, but not like that.”

“Well well well, aren’t we a little defensive? Are you sure?”

“Very.” Cole ran his hand through his hair and started to scratch behind his ear. “Zane and I are great friends”. 

Jay sat up and peered at Cole.

“Calm down Jay, you’re still my best friend.”

Jay smirked and leaned back into his seat much to the audience’s amusement.

“As I was saying, Zane is my brother, platonically speaking. I don’t think I could ever have feelings for him, or any other guy.”

“Cole, you don’t even sound like you believe yourself,” Kennedy pointed out.

“I mean, are you gonna tell me that you know more about myself than I do?”

“I’m telling you that I won’t lie to you nearly as much as you’ll lie to yourself.”

Cole scoffed and shifted in his seat, “What’s your next question?”

Kennedy grinned before continuing, “So now that we’ve confirmed your feelings for Zane–”

“No we didn’t, I literally said the exact opposite.”

“My next question for you, Cole, is how does it feel getting rejected by both Nya and Zane.”

Cole sighed, he was not a fan of Kennedy's selective hearing. Nya did reject Cole and Jay, though he didn’t care about it as much as he thought he should’ve. At the time Cole did think that he had feelings for Nya, only looking back later did he realize that he mostly competed with Jay out of fear of losing his best friend. And there was no way that Zane could have rejected him because Cole never confessed feelings to Zane...not that he had any. Cole looked at Zane, who was camouflaged as a human. Weird, he usually didn’t do that unless he was undercover, is that how he felt right now? He’ll ask later, but for now, Cole has to get through this interview.

“Well Nya rejected both Jay and I, but I didn’t exactly have feelings for Nya at the time.” 

Both Nya and Jay looked at Cole with puzzled looks. They glanced at each other before turning to face the audience. 

“And Zane never rejected me because I never confessed any feelings for him because–” Cole glared at Kennedy, “–I don’t have feelings for Zane. Like, where did you even get that idea, did a little birdie tell you that one too? ”

“No. It’s just abundantly clear that you like Zane.” 

Cole eyed Kennedy and took a deep breath, “You’re gonna keep pushing this rumor, aren’t you?”

Kennedy looked at Cole and decided he had his fun, “Oh calm down Cole, i’m just teasing you. Look i’ll just ask you one more question.

Cole perked up to confront his last question

“Are you gay?”

Cole blinked a couple of times, “What?”

“Are. You. Gay?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve had girlfriends before, so yeah, i’m pretty sure”

Kennedy tilted his head at that response, “Cole, do you know many closted LGBT members use that excuse?”

“Ok well that doesn’t change the fact that I am totally straight.”

“Ok,” Kennedy calmly replied, seeing if Cole would take the bait.

Cole folded his arms onto his chest, “What? I am!”

Kennedy smirked. Hook, line, and sink. 

“Woah, calm down Cole. I think you're reacting just a little bit too much. I didn’t realize you felt so hostile abut the idea of you being gay.” 

Cole rolled his eyes. “I don’t have a problem with being accused of being gay, it’s just that i’m straight and that’s that.”

“All i’m saying,” Kennedy started, “is that I don’t think too many people would be bothered if you were gay. I mean, Jay is openly bisexual and people don’t don’t seem to have a problem wi–” Kennedy suddenly stopped talking. He narrowed his eyes and quickly glanced from Cole to Jay repeatedly. He then formed the biggest shit eating grin Cole had ever seen. “–Wait, have you two ever experimented with each other?”

The audience erupted with laughter. Cole formed a look of pure disgust. Jay’s face turned bright red as he decided that he wanted to die. 

Kennedy couldn’t help himself and made another joke, “Is that you two are ‘best friends’?”

The audience caught their second wind and managed to laugh even louder. Cole facepalmed himself. Nya was glaring at Kennedy, who was laughing with the audience, and debating whether to kill him or not. Lloyd was covering his face, trying and failing to hide his smile. Kai was laughing with the audience. Zane was sitting and not reacting. He analyzed the scene but was indifferent to it.

The audience finally died down and Kennedy directed his attention back to Cole, “I’m sorry Cole, I couldn’t help myself. I’ll leave you alone. Besides it's time to have a chat with our last, but certainly not least ninja, Zane!”

Zane shyly smiled as he waved to the audience. 

“So Zane, how are you doing tonight?”

“Well, considering the fact that you are almost certainly going to fabricate a scandal involving myself, I would say that the present situation could be better.”

“Relax Zane,” Kennedy chided, “no one’s trying to put words in your mouth. So, how would you describe your and Cole’s relationship?”

Cole was laser focused on the audience, clearly making an effort to not look at Zane. 

“I view Cole as a brother, just as I do with the other ninja.”

“What do you think of the idea that Cole might have feelings for you?”

“It would not affect our relationship, though I would find it abundantly flattering.”

“Do you have feelings for Cole?”

“No.” Zane bluntly stated.

Cole winced at that statement and sank back into his chair.

“Good. I was testing you to make sure you cheat on Pixal or something,” Kennedy joked.

Zane smirked, “Affirmative, it would be quite unfortunate for me if Pixal suspected such an act of adultery.”

“So how are you and Pixal?”

“We are doing quite well.”

“Ya know Zane, i’ve always wondering, how does your relationship with Pixal work?”

Zane frowned and tipped his head in confusion, “May you elaborate?”

“Well, how do you and Pixal have a relationship? Don’t you guys need emotions or something?”

“We do have emotions.”

“I know,” Kennedy defended, “I just was wondering if two robots–”

“Ninjroids.” Zane corrected. He was very clearly losing patience with Kennedy. Zane was never a fan of people labeling him as a robot. Brining Pixal into the argument had just rubbed salt on the wound.

“I didn't mean it like that Zane, I just didn’t know how it works”

“‘It works’ just like every other relationship. We engage in honest conversations, converse about negative factors that could be detrimental to our relationship, and complete activities we both enjoy.”

“Well that seems like any other healthy relationship. It’s very human of you,” Kennedy offered.

“Yes, it is as I just said, we are not just robots.”

“Ah, so you do have humanity,” Kennedy jokes.

“Of course I do, what an absurd question.”

“Ok, last question, how does it feel to be the expendable one?

Zane pinched his nose and scoured Kennedy, “What do you mean ‘expedible’?”

“Yeah,” Cole scolded, “I don’t know where you get the idea that Zane’s less valuable than the rest of us, but it’s not true.”

“Of course you would be the one to defend him, lover boy.”

Cole opened his mouth to rebuttal before crossing his arms and backing down, he probably knew it was pretty useless to try and argue with Kennedy.

“As I was saying,” Kennedy started, “You’ve been injured the most of all the ninja. 

“Yes, well I admit that I have been exposed to some precarious situations.” Zane replied.

“You’ve been hacked, kidnapped, tortured, maimed, disabled repeatedly, banished to several different realms including one all by yourself, literally taken apart, manipulated, thrown off a cliff, had your mind wiped, forced to be a battery, and was forced to become an evil emperor at one point.”

“Hmm...admittley, it does sound bad when you verbalize it all at once. However–”

“And the biggest failure of them all,” Kennedy interrupted Zane, “your death. You died. And when you came back, did anyone ever try to protect you in order to make sure nothing would happen to you again? Nope, they immediately threw you back out into the action as if you didn’t just lose your life. I mean Nya died and Jay literally reversed time to bring her back to life, You died and the other ninja did nothing but fight with each other and separate to focus on their own selfish endeavors.”

Lloyd was suddenly filled with shame, he never thought about Zane’s death like that. As much as he hated to admit it, Kennedy had half a point. When Zane died, they all fell apart, but it wasn’t out of selfishness. It was because the team didn’t feel complete without Zane there. Maybe they could have done more to bring back Zane. Whatever the case, Lloyd waited to hear Zane’s response.

“I can not comprehend why you are trying to insinuate that these...events are the fault of the other ninja. What I do know is that these accusations are amiss, the ninja have always done their best to secure me from harm, as I have done for them. That is what makes us work so well, we are more than just a team, We are a family.”

“Aww!” exclaimed the audience.

“So...it doesn’t bother you that you are coincidentally always the target for destruction. You don’t find it suspicious that you’re usually part of the missions that involve the most danger?”

“That inquiry is a textbook example of leading question bias. All of us ninja have become acquainted with danger over the years, it simply comes with protecting Ninjago. Everything that we’ve been has been to protect Ninjago. Everything that I personally experienced has been part of this path that ended with everyone ok and alive.”

Kennedy was surprised at Zane’s selflessness. No one claiming to be human could be so selfless, “So...you’re ok with just, throwing your life away?

“If sacrificing my life means saving Ninjago or the other ninja, then I am willing to make that transaction.”

“Wow Zane, that was really insightful of you.” 

“Well would you look at that,” Zane replied, “I caught the great Kennedy Kurrent off guard.”

Kennedy lowered his eyebrows and let out a sharp laugh before addressing the audience, “Man, this has been fun! Well folks, like all good things, this interview and show must come to an end. What do you think of the Ninja?”

Kennedy waved his hands towards the ninja. Lloyd had a look of disappointment on his face, clearly he didn't do this interview the way it did. Kai was aggressively eyeing the exit, keen on leaving the building. Jay was smiling with the audience, though eyes gave away how he was really feeling. Nya was doing her best to kill Kennedy with her eyes, she was almost succeeding. Cole was trying to hide in his chair while he counted down the seconds until the end of the show. Zane blankly stared at the audience and the other ninja, his patience knew no bounds.

“Do you think that there are some denied feelings? Let us know at the polls. And don’t forget about the museum’s gala event one week, be sure to show up! And lastly, thank you deep viewers for joining me with this exclusive interview. Let’s give the ninja one last round of applause!”

The audience went ecstatic over the ninja, not noticing how much their heroes wanted to leave.

“That’s all for tonight folks. Don’t forget, I’m Kennedy Kurrent, keeping it current, and signing off for now, Goodnight !”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: I had to completely scrap and reinvent Nya's character arc because this chapter made me realize how little impact to the story the original arc had.
> 
> Question: What is your favorite version of the weekend whip song? I'll them down below incase you want to answer the question but haven't heard all the versions
> 
> https://youtu.be/UVhm9XO_Vw0 - Original Weekend Whip - Seasons 1-2
> 
> https://youtu.be/fsfYC_FA8o0 - Rebooted Whip - Season 3
> 
> https://youtu.be/dNiN7h5oB4k - Anacondrai Whip - Season4
> 
> https://youtu.be/UZsjNmF_ZII - Ghost whip - Season 5
> 
> https://youtu.be/SgL5JFsMyNc - Pirate whip - Season 6
> 
> https://youtu.be/oPKAAXTz3Gg - Rift whip - Day of the Departed (This song is so much better at 1.16 speed)
> 
> https://youtu.be/tNI01U1sGiE - Temporal whip - Season 7
> 
> https://youtu.be/t8-a8QzTkyE - Wicked whip - Season 11
> 
> https://youtu.be/wRHc2fuuN9U - Miracle whip - Season 11 alternate
> 
> https://youtu.be/QBUuCbRf-ic - Arcadia Whip - Season 12


	3. The ties that bind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja deal with the fallout of their interview with Kennedy. Basically, everyone is each other's mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I reposted ch. 2 because some things didn't really add up when writing this chapter but the general story is still the same. This story has way more angst than I thought it would.
> 
> I just watched season 13 and I was throughly surprised. IMO, seasons 11 and on have been kind of disappointing mostly due to pacing and lack of good villains. The Asphera storyline was really good but that was about it. But season 13 is well paced and does it's character arcs very well. The main villain is better that the Ice Emperor and Unagami but not on the same level as Pythor or Garmadon. It's on youtube and is about 2 and a half hours long. I really recommend it.

Kai woke with a start. it was still dark outside, probably 5 a.m. since that’s when he always woke up. He glanced at the figure beside him, this was her room and her apartment. Her name was Samantha? No, it was Sarah. Kai sat back in bed and recapped the events of the previous night.  
After the ninja left the interview they all just wanted to go home. The original plan had been to go out to dinner after the interview but everyone was just so exhausted and pissed off that the best course of action would be to just go home.  
Kai decided to hit up the bars and look for a one night stand. And thus, he woke up next to Sarah. Kai groaned before sneaking out of the bed. He put his tuxedo on as it was the only clothes he had from the night before. Kai wrote a quick note for Sarah explaining that he had left and left it on the night draw. He gathered his stuff, made sure the front door was locked, and slipped out of the apartment.  
Kai made his way to the roof where he called upon his element dragon. He climbed onto the fiery beast and took off into the morning sky. The sun started to rise, businesses started to open, and people started their days. Normally the ninja would be training but today was Saturday, their day off. Kai was glad for that, any other day and he’d be forced to run an extra 3 miles for being late to training. Instead, he took the time to feel the mist on his face as he neared the monastery.  
Kai landed at the monastery and snuck into the kitchen trying not to make as much noise as to not wake up the others. Kai decided to get some cereal before retreating to his room. He stepped into the kitchen only to find that Jay was already sitting at the table drinking coffee. 

“Hey,” Jay offered.

“Hey, I didn’t realize that you’d be up.”

“Yeah, couldn’t sleep.”

Kai could tell, Jay’s was all ruffle and matted and his eyes were straining to stay awake. 

“It’d probably help if you didn’t drink however many cups of coffee you’ve had.”

“Hahaha...yeah probably”, Jay laughed but it sounded hollow. “Well, i’m gonna head back to my room.”

Jay started to get up with him before Kai sighed and called out to him.

“Wait.”

Jay raised an eyebrow at Kai, he finished getting out of the chair and stood at the end of the kitchen. He leaned against the wall with his coffee cup in hand.

“Jay, about last night…”

“Oh,” Jay said as he recalled the interview “what about last night?”

“I wasn’t trying to say that you’d be a shitty dad.”

Jay stared at him with a blank expression.

“It just that, well I never thought about you and my sister...like that”

Jay formed a confused look on his face, “Like what?”

Kai rolled his eyes, “Sex Jay, I never thought about you fucking my sister.”

“Oh, Oh!” Jay awkwardly blushed as he stretched behind his ear, “Well yeah, I guess ya wouldn't want to think about that, haha.

“And also,” Kai changed the subject, “Nya’s my little sister. I’ve looked after her all my life. I remember when she used to be a little brat, and now she’s getting married, I guess sometimes I just forget that she’s grown up now.” 

Jay felt a little relieved now that he didn’t have to ponder whether or not Kai approved of him and Nya. He decided to relieve some tension with some classic teasing.

“Aww, Kai misses his little sister!” Jay teased, “How adorable.”

“What? No I don’t!” Kai defended while crossing his arms, “Fucking hell Jay, this is why I don’t tell you shit.”

Jay smirked, then returned to his original hollowed expression, “Well, i’m going back to bed.” Jay started walking to his and Nya’s room.

“Hey, Jay.” 

Jay stopped to turn and face Kai.

“For the record, I think you’d be a pretty awesome dad”.

“Thanks,” Jay responded before disappearing into his room. 

Kai grabbed an apple and started heading towards his room, on his way, he passed by Lloyd’s room. He decided to check on Lloyd because Kennedy had been a real bitch about Lloyd’s dad. All the ninja knew, to some extent, that Lloyd had struggled with his father’s relationship. But none of them knew as much as Kai did. Lloyd had shared about his complicated relationship with his father, and in return, Kai shared his struggles with his life while being alone with Nya after his parents were kidnapped. Kai decided to check on Lloyd, so he knocked on Lloyd’s door.  
Lloyd stared at the photo of him and his father. It was taken the day when he and his father had been spending the day egging cars and literally stealing candy from babies. He couldn’t believe that he used to be evil like that. God that was years ago. If Lloyd had been told back then that he would lead the ninja to fight for good, he would have laughed at the thought. He thought back to that day, after they got chased by angry mothers and drivers. They laughed, found a photobooth, and took a series of photos. It was one the happier days of his childhood, and then his dad abandoned him at the school for evil children the next day.  
Why did he leave? Lloyd knew that realistically, his father left him to protect him from influencing him down an evil path, but that didn’t make it any easier. Lloyd had tried so hard to be evil like his father, he even hunted the ninja down at one point. All that effort, just to be abandoned and turned into a ninja. Even though he knew his father was evil, it didn’t stop Lloyed from looking back on the memories with a fondness. It was why he usually kept the picture on his desk.  
The knock on his door startled him. Lloyd quickly hid his picture under his pillow. He didn’t know why he did it, it just...felt too personal for him to talk about with most of the other ninja. He strolled over to the door and opened the door to find Kai.

“Hey there short stuff,” Kai said

“You’re here early. What’s the matter, was the hook-up not good enough to stay for breakfast?”

“Fuck you,” Kai retorted playfully, “are you gonna let me in or what?”

Lloyd let kai into his room, “So what brings you here Kai?”

“Nothing much, just checking on you.”

“Why?”

“Just, after last night. Kennedy threw some pretty mean swings at you. Just trying to make sure none of them made contact.”

Lloyd faced away from Kai and looked down, “Yeah, well it’s nothing I wasn’t used to.”

“So what are you up to?”

“Just meditating.”

“Oh really,” Kai peered his eyes at Lloyd before scanning the room. He eventually settled on the desk and focused on the empty where a picture of Lloyd and his father should have been.

“Lloyd, is there anything you want to talk about. It’s fine if you don’t want to, but i’m here if you do, and you know I won’t tell anyone else about what we talk about.”

Lloyd knew that Kai meant what he said, and Kai has shared more than enough personal info with each other to build trust and blackmail against each other. Lloyd sat down on his bed and lifted his pillow to reveal the picture.  
Kai looked at the picture and was saddened by Lloyd’s melancholy expression and sat next to Lloyd. 

“How come you hid the picture?”

“...I was looking at it, I didn’t want you guys to see.”

Kai had to keep his anger at bay, people didn’t seem to understand that Garmadon was still Lloyd’s father. They didn’t understand how hard it was to fight someone you love, someone you cared about. Kai put his arm around Lloyd and responded to him.

“Lloyd, you’re allowed to miss him. Even if he is the incarnation of evil, he’s still your dad.” 

“I don’t know why I miss him. Every time he shows up, he abandons me all over again. 

“He’s your dad, that abandonment is gonna hurt.”

“I wish I could just fix him.” 

“Well it’s not your job to fix him. You can’t blame yourself for what happened to your dad.”

“But it’s my responsibility to stop him, to make sure I don’t become him.”

Kai pulled Lloyd in to comfort him, “Hey, don’t listen to what Kennedy said, it was utter bullshit. You're not your father. Even if you were, he only became evil because he was bitten by the great devourer. Lloyd, what defines you isn’t your heritage, but your actions. And Your actions have shown that you’re strong enough to carry on without your dad, even if you do miss him.”

“You know,” Lloyd started, “If you weren’t so hot headed, you’d make a pretty decent therapist.”

“Decent? Man, I was just about to invite you to play Prime Empire but now I kinda don’t want to.”

Lloyd rolled his eyes, “Fine, but next time i’ll be the therapist while you tell me your issues.”

Kai ruffled Lloyd’s hair, “If you kick my ass on the next level, then sure, I’ll answer whatever questions you want. Now let’s go short stuff.”

Lloyd put his photo back in its place on the desk and followed Kai into the common room.

Cole was lying on his bed, half asleep, and listening to his music. Slow rock was his favorite. He thought about the interview last night, who spread rumors of him being gay? Where did people even get that idea? Sure, Cole danced as a kid, but that was more like his father forcing him. He went out with girls, his voice wasn’t high, what more did people want? It wasn’t like he was secretly checking out guys, they were attractive but in a purely platonic way of course. No, he was straight, even the quizes said so. Why did it even matter to him, he didn’t have a problem with being gay. He just had a problem with everyone making assumptions about him out of thin air. Cole groaned and tried to go back to sleep, only to hear a knocking at his door.

“Ugh...come in!”

Zane entered the room, turned on the light, and scanned Cole’s room. Cole instinctively covered his body with his blanket despite the fact that all the male ninja have seen each other shirtless at some point.

“Greetings Cole, I fail to see the reasoning for your attempts to cover your body considering I have observed it plenty of times already.”

Cole let his heart rate slowdown before responding, “What do you need Zane?”

“I was hoping to converse about last night’s televised interactions.”

Cole sat up in his bed and turned off his music, “What about it?”

“I was wondering how you are currently holding up, emotionally speaking. Kennedy tried his absolute best to embarrass you. I just wanted to make sure that you weren’t suffering from any long term emotional strains.”

“I could ask the same about you, Zane. I mean, Kennedy just straight up accused you of being worthless and expendable.” 

Zane noticed how Cole changed the subject but decided not to push the subject, yet. 

“It was nothing I couldn’t handle, Kennedy is not the first or last individual to make misconceptions about me.”

“It isn’t fair, you’ve been on this team since the beginning. People like need to get with the times,” Cole crossed his arms and scowled.

“Maybe so, but I can not, and will not, force anyone to change their perspective about me. I would like to change people’s opinion of me and Pixal, but in order to do so, I must show that I only seek to exist among them.”

“It doesn’t mean that they get to treat you like that.”

“No it does not. But people are always going to be suspicious of subjects they consider unorthodox. But I chose to believe they can learn to see past those differences and become accepting, lest we forget that you, Kai, and Jay once considered me nothing more than the ‘weird one’ .”

Cole frowned and looked down at his sheets. That was years ago, they were all teens and stupid. He remembered blaming Zane for the burning of the original monastery. Cole also remembered finding out that Zane wasn’t completely human and how Zane confided in him his fear of not having humanity on the Bounty all those years ago. When did they get so old? 

“Well as long as you know that you're not expendable then, you do you.”

“I appreciate that Cole.” Zane responded.

Cole stayed in his bed and stared at Zane. His eyes were glowing, both literally and figuratively. Cole could stare at them for days. He realized that he was, in fact, staring at Zane and turned away. 

“Ok, well if that was all you needed to say. Again, i’m fine, you don’t need to worry about me. Now, if you mind, i’m gonna get some more sleep.” Cole laid back into his bed and turned his music back on.

“Of course,” Zane replied. He went to turn out the lights and stopped, “Cole?”

“Hmm?”

“You know that you can talk to me about anything, right? There is nothing you could say that could ruin our friendship.”

Again, that word, ‘friend’. Cole didn’t understand why he hated it when Zane called him that. Tons of other people called him a friend and it never bothered him, so why is it different with Zane?

“Yeah, I know.”

Zane smiled, “Sleep tight.” Then he shut the bedroom door.

Cole knew for a fact that he was not gonna sleep tight .

Nya woke up to find her and Jay’s bed half empty, though it didn’t surprise her since she never heard him coming into bed last night. She groaned and got out of bed to hear the shower running. Being the only couple who lived at the monastery, she and Jay had their own personal shower adjacent to their room. Nya stepped into the bathroom and sat herself up on the counter.  
Jay probably heard her but didn’t react.  
Nya knew why Jay wasn’t sleeping, why he was sad. It was Nadakhan, that whole event got in Jay's head more than he probably realized. Kennedy didn’t make things better by blaming everything on Jay, not that Jay doesn’t do that already. Jay always carried the world on his back, it was one of the few things Nya didn’t like about him. No matter how many times Jay helped save Ninjago, he’d always value his admittedly large failures more. 

“You didn’t come to bed last night,” Nya started. 

“Couldn’t sleep.” Jay offered. He turned off the shower and stepped out. 

With the exception of Lloyd, Jay was the thinnest, though he was taller than Lloyd and Nya. He was barely taller than Zane but shorter than Cole by an inch and Kai by about an inch and a half. He was leaner than the others, which helped with his agile fighting style. He stared at Nya as she leaned over and touched a scar on his shoulder.

“How come?”

Jay responded with silence, but he didn’t need to in order for Nya to draw a conclusion. She hopped off the counter and embraced Jay, though she didn’t think about her clothes getting wet. 

“It wasn’t your fault. Nadakhan was going to get free regardless, don’t listen to that stupid Kennedy.”

Jay rested his head on Nya’s shoulder, “I didn’t free him, but I made it worse...I made it so much worse.”

“And then you saved everyone, you reversed time and made sure that he never got free. We’re all ok because of you.”

“But I still got you killed.”

Nya’s heart sank as she heard sniffling and felt tears dropping onto her shoulder.

“I...I can still see you on the ground in that wedding dress,” Jay quietly cried, “You felt so cold. I can’t stop seeing it.”

Nya remembered it all. Nya remembered feeling her life slip away from her, taking her last breath, and fading from reality. She got through the whole situation by focusing on what happened instead of what could have happened.

“I’m here Jay. I’m still here. We got through that situation. Nadakhan can’t escape, remember? He’s not coming back, ever. You don’t need to worry about him anymore.”

Jay took a deep breath and squeezed Nya tighter, “How doesn’t any of it bother you?”

“Who said it doesn’t?”

Jay looked at Nya, overcome with guilt, “I’m sorry, I’m over here feeling sorry for my own problems and you’re here having to deal with your problems and me. I’m so weak.”

Nya looked into Jay’s eyes, “No you’re not. You’ve helped take out the serpentine, Garmadon, Chen, the Overlord, Asphera, and Morrow. You beat Unagami and Nadakhan. You have such a strong will, one of the strongest I've ever seen. You’re not weak Jay, you’re just struggling with traumatic memories. And the way that you react to these situations is going to be different the way I react. And you support me all the time, you were there when I was training to be the water ninja, When Kai and I were looking for our parents, and you were fully committed to stay when we had that pregnancy scare a few weeks back. Jay I wouldn’t be the person I am without you. Even when we weren’t together, you were still one of my closest and best friends.”

Jay briefly expressed a sad smile before forming a sullen face, “I still need to dry off, then I should probably get some sleep.”

Nya chooses not to bring up Jay’s intentional lack of response and moves out of the way so he could grab a towel. Nya stepped out of the bathroom while Jay dried off and put on some clothes and climbed into their bed, which was pushed into the back right corner of the room. She decided to join him. Nya and Jay talked for a little bit about various subjects like the color scheme for their wedding and Kai and Jay’s earlier conversation. Eventually Jay and Nya both dozed off with Nya closer to the edge of the bed and being the big spoon while Jay was closer to the wall and filled the role of the little spoon. 

A few hours later Nya woke up. She checked the clock beside their bed, 12:32 p.m.She glanced over to see Jay still fast asleep, good, he needed some sleep after pulling an all nighter. She wished he had just gone to therapy like she did, but he didn’t have the best experiences with therapists.  
She thought about what Jay told her about his childhood. He had been remorselessly bullied for being too loud and living in a junkyard, that last one was the reason he wasn’t a huge fan of visiting home. Jay had dealt with all the nasty things said to him with humor and wit.He was always funny, but his humor was amplified by his need to deal with the bullying. He found that people appreciated him more when he made quick witted responses to his bullies, essentially embarrassing them. Of course, that sat well with Jay’s bullies and soon they turned physical. Jay never told Nya how many of his scars were from his attackers instead of his time as a ninja, and She never felt comfortable asking. For his bullies however, it just more ammo to use against him. But Jay kept fighting back with his humor, even though they kept emotionally hurting him. He always kept a smile up even as he was slowly eroding on the inside.  
Jay tried his hardest to let everyone know that they meant something to him so they wouldn’t feel as alone as he did. This kindness along with his humor put Jay on good terms with everyone, people would even defend him from his bullies. By the time Jay had come out as bisexual, in 8th grade, most of the school loved his funny persona and kind heart too much to hold it against him. His bullies didn’t care, in fact they were somehow empowered by it.  
Nya’s stomach turned as she remembered Jay telling her of how his bullies pulled him into a boy’s bathroom shortly after he came out. Luckily, a security guard came in to investigate Jay’s screams before anything happened but the emotional damage was done.  
Jay’s parents sent him to a therapist, who proceeded to blame him for everything, telling him that ‘his failures were his fault’. She let him know that he was responsible for every bad thing, or mistake he was involved in. It’s why he blamed himself for Nadakhan and Unagami, he played a role in their plans therefore he was responsible for all of it, what bullshit.  
Jay never confirmed it, mostly because she never asked, but Nya truly believed that Jay was becoming a danger to himself when Wu found him.  
Nya sat back, filled with anger, she wished Jay never how valuable and capable he was. Nya did what she always did when she was angry, she thought of more situations and thought also made her angry. In this case, it was Kennedy’s interview last night. Nya was just glad that Kennedy didn’t mention any of Jay’s past at all. He probably didn’t know since Jay only told her and Cole about his life before becoming a ninja. Speaking of Cole, Nya thought of how Cole was constantly teased about his sexuality, how Kennedy  
She also remembered Kai and Lloyd laughing at the idea of Cole and Jay experimenting. Nya remembered Jay blabbering about Cole’s issues with his sexuality. She decided to talk to Lloyd and Kai about last night.  
Nya got out of bed and headed towards the common room, figuring that they’d be there. She entered the room and confirmed her theory as Kai and Lloyd were sitting on the couch working through a new level...Prime Empire?

“Isn’t that the sentient game that almost got us killed?” Nya asked.

“Yeah, it’s fucking awesome though, wanna join?” Kai offered her his controller.

“Not at the moment, do you guys know where Cole is?”

“I believe he is still resting in his quarters!” Zane shouted from the kitchen, which was right next to the common room.

“Ok, good. Zane can you give us some room please? And can you secretly let us know if Cole is coming? Thank you.”

Zane arched his eyebrow in confusion before nodding his head in agreement and shutting the door to the common room. Nya caught a whiff and got excited as she recognized the scent of pancakes. That would be for later though, for now, she’d have to focus.

“Kai, pause the game. I think Nya is trying to talk to us.” Lloyd noted.

Kai paused the game, then he and Lloyd turned to face Nya.

“Firstly, Cole cannot know about this conversation.”

“Done,” Lloyd said with Kai nodding his head in approval.

“Ok, last night when Kennedy made that joke about Jay and Cole–”

“Wait, did Cole and Jay actually experiment?” Kai interrupted. 

“What? No! Stop interrupting. When Kennedy made that joke and implied that Cole was gay, you two were obviously laughing about it.”

“And…” Kai asked. He was followed by a few seconds of silence before Lloyd put two and two together.

“Wait, so is Cole gay?” Lloyd questioned.

Nya rolled her eyes, “Have you seen Cole get all flustered when talking to an attractive guy? Of course he’s gay.”

“Does he know that he’s gay?” Lloyd asked.

“I don’t know…. maybe he knows but isn’t ready to come out, maybe he subconsciously knows but isn’t ready to admit it to himself, or maybe he doesn’t even know himself.” Nya replied while surging her shoulders. 

“Well doesn’t he know that we wouldn’t have a problem,” Kai started, “I mean we did help Jay get ready for a couple of dates with guys before you two got together”

“It’s not us so much as himself–” Nya second guessed her thoughts before continuing, “–don’t tell anyone I told you this but there are things about Cole’s home village he didn’t tell us. But he did tell Jay”

“How do you know whether or not Cole told Jay?” Kai pondered.

“Have you ever asked Jay to keep a secret?” Nya responded, “He’s literally incapable of doing it. Anyways, Jay said that Cole’ s village isn’t very accepting of people who aren’t straight. Cole had a close friend, she was a closeted lesbian. One day it got out that she wasn’t straight and she disappeared, Cole searched for her for weeks but it was as if she just vanished. A few weeks later, they found her body in a river… she wasn’t even in high school yet. No one knows what happened and no one cared to find out.”

Kai placed his hands over his head, “Shit.”

“Yeah,” Nya remarked, “Jay has a theory that Cole subconsciously thinks the same would happen to him if he came out. I think that even if he admitted it to himself, he’ll just remind himself of what happened to that poor girl every time he thinks about coming out.”

“Jesus christ.”

“But I don’t understand,” Lloyd stated, “One of the members of Cole’s dad’s quartette is gay.”

“That quartet helps bring in a lot of business to the village so he kind of gets an exception. And even then, he carries a 9mm at all times and got married in secret.”

“They seem so nice when we visit, though,” Kai argued.

“Because we all look straight, except Jay who, if you noticed, wears a hoodie and deepens his voice every time we go there. They don’t even question us or attack Jay because we would win that fight and make them look bad.”

“So is his dad…against gay people?” Lloyd asked.

“No,” Nya answered to Lloyd’s relief, “He’s actually one of the few advocates for LGBT rights there.

“Well that’s good.” Kai added, “But what does that have to do with us laughing at– “ Kai connected the dots and realized that he Lloyd could have been a little more considerate, “Oh, we pretty much laughed at a personal issue that Cole might have struggled with for years.”

Lloyd’s face went blank as he processed what Kai said

“Yeah,” Nya replied, “Now, I know that you guys didn’t mean it like that, but I think you two should talk to Cole alone and let him know that you would support him no matter his sexuality.”

“Yeah. Ok, Kai and I will talk to him later.” Lloyd agreed. Kia gave a thumbs up. 

“Hello Cole!” Zane said loudly, clearly trying to get Nya’s attention, “I am glad to see that you appear to be well rested!”

“This conversation didn’t happen.” Nya whispered and all three of them nodded in agreement.

Kai and Lloyd unpaused their game just as Cole walked into the room

“Hey, did one of you guys increase Zane’s audio output again? He’s yelling for no reason.” Cole asked. 

“Nope,” Nya quickly answered. She then got up and left the common room as Cole sat down to watch Kai and Lloyd try to beat their video game level. 

About 20 minutes after Nya left Lloyd finally died to a video game boss. As he handed the controller to Cole, Lloyd got up to talk to Zane. He had thought about last night and Kennedy accused the ninja of treating Zane, and Lloyd decided that he wanted to talk with Zane.

Lloyd entered the kitchen and was welcomed by the smell of apple and cinnamon pancakes. Zane was just finishing up the pancakes and, as usual, he was in his iconic pink apron. Zane heard Lloyd come into the kitchen and welcomed him without looking up from the store.

“Greetings Lloyd, if you are here for the pancakes, they have just finished cooking and will be delivered shortly. “

“Oh cool, but that’s not what i’m here about.”

Zane turned off the stove and turned around, giving his full attention to Lloyd.

“I was thinking about what Kennedy said last. About you dying and how we didn’t try hard enough to bring you back.”

“Nonsense Lloyd, Kennedy fabricated and twisted events to support his own hypothesis of us not caring about each other.”

“But that’s the thing,” Lloyd responded, “He’s right about that one part. When you died, we didn’t even try to look for a way to bring you back. We all just selfishly went our own ways, instead of looking for you, we were too busy fighting. ” 

“Your mistake, Lloyd, Is that you are perceiving these events with hindsight bias. In those moments, you and the other ninja had no idea I was still alive. As such, you all grieved in your own ways.” Zane’s face briefly showed grief before continuing, “If anything, I am at fault for not letting you guys know I was still living.”

“Well that’s not true, you were trapped at Chen’s island. There was nothing you could do. And you didn’t even know how we were doing, you didn’t know that your death broke us.”

“Ah, so what you are saying is that you and the other ninja being broken up is not my fault because I had no way of knowing what was happening? To summarize, you are confirming that I am not responsible for events I didn’t even know occurred.”

“Yeah –oh, I see what you did there,” Lloyd confirmed, “But it doesn’t change the fact that we could’ve tried harder.”

“Yes, well I could have tried harder to let you know of my location so I believe that we are even. Now, would you like to assist me in setting the table?

The Ninja, with the exception of Jay, sat down at the table and started to dig into the pancakes. 

“Hey, where’s Jay?” Cole asked with his mouth full.

Nya finished chewing before responding, “He’s asleep. He couldn’t sleep last night.” 

“Oh, is he ok?” Lloyd questioned.

“I think so,” Nya started, “He’s just bummed about the interview last. ”

“Kennedy was rather harsh on us,” Zane started.

“Yeah, what an asshole.” Kai affirmed.

“Is he upset over Nadakhan?” Cole asked, “He knows that wasn’t his fault , right?

“No, he doesn’t know,” Nya said. She and Cole shared a look of concern, they both cared about Jay and knew that the only way Jay didn’t blame himself would be if he recognized that it wasn’t his fault.

“How did Kennedy even know Nadakhan?” Lloyd questioned.

“Well,” Zane started, “I am scanning my memory records right now. The only time that Nadakhan was mentioned to everyone present was that meeting.”

“Who else was at the meeting?” Kai asked.

Zane continued scanning, “All the ninja, Pixal, Wu, Misako, and…” as Zane scanned his memories, the ninja all recollected the meeting and its participants

“DARETH!” the ninja yelled in unison. 

Jay burst into the room hyper aware and wide-eyed, “What happened? Is everyone ok?” 

“No we’re not,” Cole responded, “We just figured out that Dareth was one who told Kennedy all about us!”

Jay somehow managed to look even more surprised, “Dareth?”

“That son of a bitch!” Kai proclaimed, “Why the fuck did we let him in on that meeting?!”

“Apparently we struck a bargain with him stating that we would let him join a meeting if he watched the monastery while we went to the beach.” Zane answered

“Someone call that fucker, I want to have some words with him!” Kai demanded 

Cole pulled out his phone, clicked on FaceTime, and contacted Dareth. The ninja moved their chairs to crowd around Cole so they could see Dareth. The phone rang for a couple of times before Dareth picked up. He had sunglasses on and was shitting in his chair, tilting it backwards so he could put his feet on his desk.

“Hello ninja how the famous....brown ninja be off service to you?”

“Dareth, you imbecile!” Nya exclaimed.

Dareth almost fell out of his chair at Nya’s aggression. “Uh...hi Nya, how’s it shaking?”

“We know you ratted us out to Kennedy you little shit!” kai yelled.

“Uh, well–”

“Save your shitty excuses,” Kai interrupted, “Why did you tell Kennedy about me and Skylor? And who are you, of all people, to tell me that I’m immature?”

“Ok, well in my defense, Skylor was the one who told me that you’re immature.”

“What? Since when do you talk to Skylor?” Kai challenged.

“What can I say, her noodles are the best in Ninjago, not to mention she’s got a nice rack.”

Nya scowled at Dareth, “You are such a pervert!”

“I’ve got to go,” Kai said. He got up, gave Dareth the middle finger, and ran out of the kitchen.

“Look guys, Kennedy told me that he just wanted some info on you in order to make the interview interesting,” Dareth explained, “I just wanted you to have a juicy interview.”

“So you are confirming, “ Zane calmly stated, “that you willingly told Kennedy about my apparent lack of humanity, rumors about Cole’s sexuality, Jay’s guilt over Nadakhan, Kai’s alleged anger issues, Lloyd’s personal issues about his father, and Kai and Skylors’ personal relationship?”

“Huh...well, ya know, when you put it like that, it doesn’t sound like the best idea.”

“Well of course it doesn’t!” Cole exclaimed, “You let Kennedy tell all of Ninjago that I was gay, which i’m not!”  
“Look–” Dareth put his hands up as a surrender, “–I know that it wasn’t the best idea. But have you seen the ratings? You’re all trending right now, especially you Cole.”

Cole’s face irritated embarrassment and anger which, in turn, fueled Nya’s own anger.

“So if you’re upset that I got you a lot of publicity, then i’m sorry but it’s my job, as your manager, to make sure that you stay relevant.

Nya took Cole’s phone, “Well you don’t need to worry about that anymore because you’re fired, and if I see you again, i’ll personally kick your ass.” Nya then ended the call and gave Cole’s phone back to him.

As always, Skylor was working at her noodle shop. After she’d taken over her evil father’s noodle shop, she decided to try and repair the reputation of her family’s name. Overall she did enjoy the simpler life, though she hated the lunch and dinner rushes. Luckily, today was slow.  
Skylor just finished serving a bowl of noodles to her last customer when she heard loud flapping noise outside her store. Tina, her employee, gasped at the sight outside the window. Skylor followed her gaze outside just in time to see the fire dragon disappear and a certain hotheaded ninja heading straight for her. She couldn’t blame them though, when she saw the interview, Skylor knew it was a matter of time before Kai pierced it all together. She readied herself as Kai burst through the front door. 

“Immature, really?! It’s pretty fucking ironic that you call me immature whil–” Kai was stopped by Skylor raising her hand. 

“There are customers here,” Skylor started, “we are not going to do this in front of them. Let’s go to the back. Tina, I'm going on break. Let me know if it gets too busy.”

“You got it, boss,” Tina replied.

Skylor led Kai to the back office. He sat down in a chair as angrily as he could. She closed the door, took a breath, and turned to face the fire ninja. 

“Ok, with the benefit of hindsight, talking to Dareth about our personal relationship wasn't my best moment.”

“Really?” Kai sarcastically challenged.

“Look, Dareth’s an idiot. He comes in here for noodles, and I sometimes talk to him. Honestly, I didn’t think he was capable of retaining any of that info, which was stupid on my part.”

Kai folded his arms and stared back at her.  
“Look Kai, I shouldn’t have told him. I had no idea he was gonna go talk to that Kennedy guy, I'm sorry that he put you on the spot, and I'm sorry that I accidentally helped with that.

Kai arched an eyebrow, “Well that’s...unexpected.”

“What?”

“You apologize, admitting that you’re wrong. You never admit to being wrong”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Skylor leaned against the wall waiting for Kai’s response.

“Exactly what I said,” Kai retorted, “You don’t admit that you’re wrong unless you have to.”

“Well, you won’t admit that you're immature so I guess we’re both even.” Skylor clearly didn’t like Kai’s response.

“Oh my fucking god, I just I just said that you’re not right all the time.”

“I know, and I just said that you’re immature so we’re even”

“The fucking irony of you calling me immature when you get butthurt over being told that you’re wrong sometimes. Why do you even call me ‘immature’ anyways?” 

“Because you never take responsibility for anything but fighting”

“Excuse me?”

“That’s why you do all those hook-ups. You like to feel close to someone but you don’t want to take the full responsibility of a relationship, it’s why we didn’t work.”

Kai narrowed his eyes and stood up, “We didn’t work out because you can’t admit when you’ve made a mistake. And even when you did, you somehow managed to blame me for your wrongdoings.”

Skylor was about to rebuttal when Tina called out from the front, “Hey boss! We’re getting pretty busy out here.”  
Skylor shook her head,“Saved by the bell, Kai.” She then walked to the front of the store to help her employee deal with the patrons.

Kai stood alone in the office before heading out the back door, making sure it locked before he left the shop. For the third time today, Kai summoned his dragon and took off into the sky.

The monastery came into view and Kai started his descent, when he suddenly felt a rush run through his body, it was as if his whole body fell asleep for a split second. Kai felt...free, not in the sense that he felt liberated from some tyrant. Instead, it felt like he could do whatever he wanted and the only thing stopping him was himself. As soon as it started, the feeling stopped. Kai gripped the reins on his dragon even tighter, wondering if he really experienced this feeling. It was probably just his body falling asleep and Kai decided to focus on his landing.

Kai landed back at the monastery to see Lloyd waiting for him, sitting down on the front steps.

“Took you long enough.” 

Kai ignored him and walked towards his room.

“Wait, we still need to talk to Cole.”

Kai stopped dead in his tracks, clearly annoyed, “Can’t we do that tomorrow?”

“Not, neither of us will want to do it tomorrow”

Kai just wanted to go into his room and meditate, but he knew that Lloyd was right, as he usually is unlike certain other people.

“Ugh...fuck. Fine, let’s go.”

Cole sat at his desk, writing in his journal. He had his headphones and was listening to the “Rift Whip” song. Cole usually wrote about how his day went or any big recent events. Today, he was writing about the interview. He wrote of how Kennedy exploited insecurities and spread rumors about the ninja. Then he started to write about the ninja figuring out that Dareth was the one who gave Kennedy the dirt on them. Cole had just finished up a paragraph when there was a knock on his door. He took off his headphones and swung his chair around.

“Come in.”

Kai and Lloyd walked and looked at Cole’s bed.

“Have a seat.” Cole offered.

Kai and Lloyd sat on his bed.

“So what’s up?”

“We wanted to talk to you about last night,” Lloyd claimed.

“Did Zane put you up to this?”

“No,” Kai denied, “Why would he?”

“No reason,” Cole dismissed.

“No Kai and I wanted to apologize about us laughing last night.”

Cole tilted his head and frowned in confusion, “Why would you guys need to apologize for that.”

“Because we should’ve been on your side,” Lloyd answered, “Kennedy shouldn’t have tried to make fun of the idea of you being gay and instead of defending you, we enabled him.”

“Well I appreciate the effort, but it was a harmless joke. If he was trying to out me it’d be a different story, but he didn’t, so it isn’t.”

“He wasn’t trying to out you?” Kai asked.

“No, I'm straight. He can’t out me because there’s nothing to do.

“Ok, well as long as you know that we’re sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry because there’s nothing to be sorry about.” Cole took a breath before relaxing, “But thank you anyways.”

Kai and Lloyd looked at each other, read Cole’s expressions, and took a hint. They got up to leave, Lloyd left the room but Kai lingered to address Cole once more.

“You know, no one here would have a problem if you were gay.”

“I’m not.”

“I know, i’m just saying that if the very unlikely event that you were–”

“I’m. Not.”

Kai put his hands up in a form of surrender and left the room. Jay almost immediately entered the room as soon as Kai left. Normally Cole would prefer that people at least asked to come into his room but Jay was a different story. As soon as they met, Cole and Jay had been the best of friends. In Cole’s mind, Jay was always welcomed into his room.

“What’s up?”

“I could ask you the same thing Jay. Nya told me that you were feeling pretty down earlier.”

“Haha...Well I don’t know about all that,” Jay smiled, “ I mean yeah I was slightly sad, but I was a little stressed. I mean with the wedding to plan, training to, and Dareth being fired, There’s a lot to be stressed over. And you guys let me sleep without getting any of Zane’s pancakes, which I did get later but it’s just not the same when it’s reheated, ya know? Other than that my day has been perfect, got to sleep in all day, oh my god, did I tell you about Kai’s talk with me this morning? He was all like ‘God damn, I fucking know you’ve been fucking my fucking sister’,” Jay did his best impersonation of kai, holding his hair above his head and flexing his muscles. He was about to continue before Cole interrupted him.

“You don’t have to do that.”  
Jay paused and sat down on Cole’s bed.

“You don’t have to put on a show Jay, I'm listening to you either way.” Cole assured him.

“I...I know. I’m just used to drawing as much attention to myself as I can.”

To most other people, that comment would be nothing more than a confirmation that Jay was an attention seeker. But Cole and Nya knew the truth, it wasn’t attention seeking, it was protection. No one would try anything with you if there were witnesses around who were actively paying to you. Jay learned that truth the hard way.

“It was Nadakhan wasn’t it.”

Jay remained silent, he had a thousand yard stare. 

“And i’m guessing that Nya talked to you about it?”

Jay looked at Cole and slowly nodded up and down.

“So you know that i’m going to say the same things she said right?”

“Yeah…” 

“It wasn’t your fault Jay”

Jay looked at Cole and smiled, “Can I ask you a question?”

Jay put no attempt into hiding his obvious change of the subject but Cole knew from past experiences that trying to force Jay to talk wasn’t a good way to get him to talk. Jay had to take time and develop trust towards a person for him to start opening up. Cole didn’t press Jay any further.

“Sure”

“It’s about what you said last night, if you didn’t want to date Nya, why did you pursue her?”

Cole cringed as he scratched behind his ear, “Honestly, I was jealous–” Cole looked at Jay who was clearly surprised, “I saw you and Nya getting closer. I stupidly thought that you weren’t gonna want to hang out with me if you started dating Nya. I mean, I didn’t wanna lose my best friend. I know it was stupid and selfish and i’m sorry.”

Jay’s look of surprise lasted for a second before melting into a huge smile, “Aw, you missed me!”

Cole instantly regretted what he said as his face blushed red, “Well actually….yeah, I guess I did.”

Jay came over and hugged Cole as tight as he could, “It’s fine Cole. I can’t wait to tell Nya that you wanted me and not her.”

Cole rolled his eyes, “Jay, you’re gonna kill me.”

Jay let out Cole and started heading out of his room, “Well that's all I wanted to know so I'll be heading out.”  
“Jay,” Cole watched as Jay stopped in his tracks, “you can talk to me anytime about anything. We’re best friends, and that means that we can talk about anything.”

Jay stared back at Cole, wishing that Cole would take his own advice, “Back at you.”

Cole watched as Jay closed the door, he then turned off the lights and retired to his bed. Jay smiled and laughed, Cole was happy about that. He turned on his music and dreaded all the publicity that Dareth and Kennedy had created for him and the other ninja. How many guys were gonna try and hit on him? How many people were going to lose faith in the earth ninja because of his supposed homosexuality. Cole started thinking about all the unnecessary publicity that would follow the ninja.

Little did Cole and the other ninja realize that Kennedy’s publicity stunt was going to be the least of their problems in the coming weeks...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I almost paired Jay and Cole together for this story, but I can't betray Cole and Zane (is there a ship name for them?) and I really enjoy Nya and Jay's relationship.
> 
> Question: Which season is your favorite? Mine is season 1, though season 6 is a very close 2nd
> 
> Next week we're going to finally get into the plot. I can't wait!


	4. And so it begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet our antagonist and find out their plans for Ninjago as well as their motivations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok we are finally getting into the plot.

Kane clutched her backpack as she made her way through the Squalors, the poorest section of Ninjago City. Settled in the outermost part of the city, this area had been far enough away from the closest police precinct that crime could settle here with no problem. Since it was far away from the tourist spots, this place had been effectively abandoned by the rest of the city, out of sight, out of mind.   
These poor people, forced to live out this...this disgusting life. She watched as two kids argued over an apple. One of them, a little girl, swung at the boy’s face, making contact as he fell to the ground. She grabbed the apple and took off running. Kane shook her head as the girl ran past her, she reminded Kane so much of...no, she couldn’t think about that, not now.  
Kane approached the boy with her hands up, his eyes bored into hers as he tried to read this mysterious woman. Kane slowly reached into her backpack and pulled out a box of animal crackers. Kane knew that it wasn’t wise to share food here, the squalors are known for their lack of food, water, just hospitality in general. You shared food with one, you’ve gotta share food with them all, and that could lead to less than ideal situations. But that didn’t stop her from offering the crackers. The boy hesitantly reached for the crackers, then he snatched them and ran away.   
Kane pulled out her makeshift map of the squalors, she was almost there. Kane knew that having a phone would be easier for finding her target but she also didn’t want to risk possibly getting tracked. Kane knew first hand that a lot of people wouldn’t agree with her plans and she didn’t want to risk anyone trying to stop her. Kane pulled herself out of her thought as she heard footsteps behind her. She made an effort to not look back even as she felt her possible assailant closing in on her. She discreetly reached into her front pocket, while she didn’t know how to fight, she could protect herself. Finally, the guy reached her. He gripped her arm, turned her around, and pulled her to him.

“Hey there little girl, why don’t you come back to my place so we–,” that was all the guy could get before he felt the electricity flow through his body. 

Kane clipped her taser back into her front pocket as the guys fell down to the ground. He’d be fine, just shocked long enough for her to gain some distance from him.   
Funny enough, the squalors used to be way worse than this. Gangs used to roam the streets, using kids to peddle and test drugs. Murders happened all the time and were never solved. Women were forced into prostitution to get by. The first honest workers were extorted, and the school was laughable. Few people were lucky to finish high school, the very few people who did go into college bolted at the chance and never looked back. In all honesty, you were lucky to hit the age of 60 in this area.   
The Wolves were the biggest and deadliest gang. Crossing them usually meant death, though a few had been known to get away from the gang and escape it’s deadly consequences. Though it was said that all Wolves gang members had a “W” tattooed on various parts of a body.  
That all changed when a man arrived about 5 years ago. This man swarmed in with a small army, he took out all of the gangs first, even the Wolves. Then he started funneling money into the local economy and encouraged local business owners to hire more workers to help said economy. He paid for renovations to the schools and managed to bring in educators to teach the local students. The man even set guard patrols and formed his own police force. The leaders of Ninjago City didn’t like that he took a part of the city from them but hesitated to pursue any legal action lest they’d have to take the squalors back.   
The squalors were still a hellhole and walking home at night would almost guarantee a mugging, but things were changing for the better, who knew how this area might be in another 5 years.  
The man who ran the squalors was named Zhang. A lot of things were said about him. He was skilled enough to possibly even take on the ninja, he was either your best friend or worst enemy depending on how loyal you were to him. He was often seen talking with the locals, offering help to the innocent and punishing those who endanger others or threatened his power. All that Kane knew was that he was the reason she came here.  
Kane finally reached her destination, a somewhat clean building, painted all grey with a white sign on the door saying, “Zhang’s Taskmasters”. Bingo, Kane took a deep breath and walked into the building.  
The inside of the building had two plastic chairs and air conditioning that was too loud. The box t.v. in the corner showed highlights from some big recent interview. On the other side of the room was a secretary desk with a young man sitting down working on a sudoku puzzle book. He heard her come in and looked up. He gave Kane a once over and went back to his puzzle. Kane approached the counter and looked at the secretary, waiting for him to notice her. 

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself,” the man replied. 

Kane looked at the puzzle, the box the man was working on had all it’s numbers but 7 and 4, he was working on finding 4’s spot. Kane took a look at the whole puzzle, it was one of her strong suits, she was able to see the bigger picture and the details that make it, it allowed her to solve a lot of her previous problems. She examined all the places with 7’s.

“Put the 7 in this spot,” Kane pointed towards the top left box.

“Hmmm,” the man put it there and continued working on his puzzle.

“Well now that I've helped you with your puzzle, I'm ready to helped.”

This time the young man didn’t even bother answering her.

“Daniel!”a crisp, harsh voice called from the back, “Are you not doing your job?!”  
A shorter asian man walked out, he looked to be in his late 40’s and looked to be about 5 foot 4. Most importantly, he had a katana, with a slight red tint, strapped to his back and a desert eagle pistol strapped to his side. He walked over, took a look at the secretary, Daniel, and grabbed his puzzle book. He rolled it up and smacked Daniel in the head with the roll.

“I want you out of here! You’ve got five minutes to vacate my business before I cut off your arms. And tell your mom that I can’t help dumbasses!”

Daniel’s eyes grew into saucers, “But uncle!”

“Four minutes.”

Daniel took a hint and ran into the back to collect his stuff.

The short man looked to the woman standing in his lobby. She had shoulder length light brown hair with streaks of grey, his guess was that she was around her early 40’s. She tried to look intimidating but failed miserably. The woman had a weird effect on the man, He felt as if his whole body was asleep around her. He figured this wasn’t gonna be your typical case. 

“Sorry about the interruption,” the man said, “How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Zhang.” Kane replied.

“You’re looking at him,” the man replied, “I’m Zhang. How can I help you?”

Zhang offered his hand and Kane shook it.

“I want to hire your services.”

“As expected. Let’s talk in the back,” Zhang suggested.

Just then Daniel came out from the back he quickly walked towards the front door. He took one last look at Zhang and pleaded to his uncle with his eyes. Zhang responded by opening the strap to his pistol holster. Daniel took the hint and left the building.

“Come on,” Zhang led Kane to the back room. 

The back room was bigger and more put together than Kane would have realized. The left wall of the room seemed to have a digital map of all of Ninjago. The right wall was an armory of pistols, riffles, swords, and various other weapons. The back wall had a giant screen which seemed to display information when needed. The wall that shared the door had a computer set-up, must be how they looked things up. There was a panel, next to the computers, showing the viewpoint of all the various cameras in the store. There was a young woman with a short ponytail at the computer. The middle had four metal tables, enough to seat about 30 people. How many people were under Zhang’s employment?   
Kane briefly glanced out the door she just entered to see another on the other side of the hallway and figured that it was a break room. Zhang directed Kane towards the computer and called to the woman at the computer. 

“Briggs, we might have a new client. Let’s run a background on her”

“Sure thing boss.” Briggs replied. She then turned to Kane, “Ma’am, your full name please.”

“Elizabeth Kane.”

Briggs started searching Kane’s history while Zhang turned to face Kane.

“Thanks for not hassling over the search history. Briggs here is my second in command, you can trust her to not do anything unnecessary with your info.”

Briggs printed out 2 pages and handed them to Zhang, who thanked her for her efforts. Kane watched as Zhang sat down on one of the tables. Kane tried to figure out how they searched up her history so fast.

“It’s from Cyrus Borg.” he said.

“What?” Kane replied.

“Everyone always wonders how we get info so quickly, our computers are specially built by Cyrus Borg.”

“Does he know that you have these computers?”

“Ma’am, for your own safety, don’t ask questions like that.”

“I’d listen to her if I were you,” Zhang added, “now let’s see.” He pulled out some reading glasses and went over the documents.

Briggs walked over to shut the door to the room. 

“Briggs is just making sure no one else will overhear your history.”

“I appreciate that,” Kane replied.

“Ok,” Zhang started, “so you don’t have any criminal records. And your life looks pretty typical, born into a wealthy family, went to college, had a family, lost that family, sorry about that. Then you lost your degree. None of those things seem off but you’re not our typical client. So let me ask you, what does a disgraced astrophysics doctor want with someone like me?”

“I know of you,” Kane replied, “I know your past, your failures, your tragedies. I know about your fallen brothers, all of it.”

Briggs and Zhang glanced at each other, Briggs pulled out her pistol and aimed at Kane while Zhang decided to question her.

“What’s your point?” Zhang demanded.

Kane’s breathing wavered, she figured that Zhang wouldn’t like being called out like that but she hadn't realized how quick to possible homicide he’d be. She knew that if she messed up her response, her life would end very quickly.

“My point is that I know that you haven’t had an easy life. You grew up an orphan trying to raise your baby sister on your own. You joined a gang, formed what were supposed to be lifelong bonds with your brothers. They all died in a gang war, and you massacred the other gang in revenge. I know that as much as you hate these squalors, they’re your home. It’s why you stay here, why you built up this wealth and mini army. You charge your client high prices so you can run your business, pay your employees, and distribute your wealth back to the community. I know that you are the only reason the people here don’t die of starvation every year.”

Briggs aimed his own gun at Kane, “What’s. Your. Point?

“What if I told you that none of that had to happen? What if I told you that all of your failures and tragedies were predestined? What if I told you that fate is real?”

Zhang slowly and hesitantly lowered his weapon, “What do you mean fate is real?”

“Fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it, it’s real. Not in the way you might imagine, but it is real. And I want to destroy it.”

Briggs looked at Zhang with an eyebrow arched. Zhang motioned for her to lower her weapon and despite her obvious disagreement, Briggs holstered her pistol.

“Well...i’ve definitely never heard that one before.” Zhang told Kane.

“I know how it sounds, believe me. But it’s true and I can prove it to you.”

“You know–” Zhang hoped down from the table, “–about a decade ago I would’ve shot you for wasting my time with such ridiculous...ideas. But, I've seen Ninjago come under siege from a video game, ghosts, fire snakes, robots, and a lot more crazy shit. So i’ll tell you what, if you can prove it to me, we’ll talk about payment. Briggs can you go cover the front of the store? Thanks”

Briggs nodded before heading out the room.

Kane slowly reached her backpack and pulled out a file with a lot of writings on it. She set it down on the table and pulled out several papers, some with writing, others with pictures of strange particles. Zhang sat at the table and waited for her to sell her pitch.

“Do you see these particles,” Kane pointed to the pictures with the particles, “they’re dark matter particles. Dark matter generates energy that flows through everything and everyone. It’s what I worked on when I was a doctor. My life’s work was figuring out how dark matter worked, how it helped make our universe. What I found was a truth entirely different than anything I expected. Dark matter is almost completely sentient, like how a tree is. It seeks balance, kind of like homeostasis but for the whole universe.”

“What kind of balance?” Zhang asked.

“Good and evil. Don’t look at me like that, I know it sounds stupid. But look at these trends I measured.” Kane pulled out a couple pages of graphs. “Look at these findings. I took samples of air from particular periods of time and mapped them all together. If you like the time line up with our history, every time a crisis between good and evil has occurred, the amount of dark matter increases. The first serpentine wars marked a high point of dark matter concentration as it led to the unification of the elemental masters. Since then, every time dark matter has started to increase, a new villain comes along. I think that this dark matter is trying to balance itself out. These ninja have constantly led good to prevail over evil and as a result, dark matter has influenced events to create villains to challenge the ninjas.”

“So what if evil wins?”

“If my theories are right then it wouldn’t matter because inevitably, some form of good would rise to challenge that evil.”

“So this matters...It just controls every aspect of life and seeks balance?”

“That’s the interesting part, it doesn’t control every aspect of life. It only determines the important parts; birth, death, any major events in your life. Let me explain it to you this way, let’s say you are destined to die from a gunshot wound. You could get shot during a robbery, or by Briggs, or on accident. It doesn’t matter how you get shot, just that you get shot. So it doesn’t control every single aspect of you, just the important parts that affect your life.”

“So let me get this straight. Fate exists, it controls all important aspects of our life, but not everything. So if I’m destined to lose my business, it doesn’t matter if I wear a red or blue or green shirt because it doesn’t change the fact that I lose my business. Fate is made of slightly sentient particles and seeks balance between good and evil, if one side is stronger than the other side, fate will...create villains or heroes to balance that good.”

Kane looked at Zhang with surprise, “You’re taking this well.”

“Like I said before, video games attacked the city. It almost makes more sense that some force made it happen.”

“Ok, but there’s one more thing.”

“I’m all ears”

“Technically, fate can be influenced.”

Zhang narrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“There are situations in which events could change the world so drastically that the dark matter count lowers. It’s almost as if the dark matter is watching to see what happens. The biggest two examples I recorded are the green ninja’s defeat over the overlord and the green ninja’s parents agreeing to have a kid. The green ninja’s battle with the overlord is obvious because if he lost Ninjago would be lost in darkness for who knows how long. That event had such big ramifications that it Altered fate itself because it changed the course of history.” 

“Ok…”

“Basically, the bigger impact it has on the world, the less dark matter is detected and thus, the less fate actually takes control.”

“So fate sets up the battles for good and evil but lets the final conflict play through in order to seek balance based on whether good or evil wins?”

“Yes! Exactly. And dark matter will build up during these events but doesn’t do anything because it’s waiting to see whether good or evil wins. Then the surplus of dark matter surges out to control fate and set up the next conflict depending on which side won. ”

“So then why do you want to destroy fate?”

“Look around you, do you see all the sadness and despair around you? Fate seeks balance between good and evil and completely disregards everyone else. How many people have lost their lives because they were ‘willed’ to? How many people are impoverished, or in jail, or are forced to be evil? I want to destroy fate because it enslaves us all in it’s bullshit balancing act.”

Zhang sat back down, “Ok, so why do you want me, of all people, to help you?”

“Because you understand that doing the right thing isn’t always easy, you understand that doing the right thing requires sacrifice. I’ve seen your work. The squalors are in the best position they’ve ever been in, and it’s thanks to you. But no one mentions that you had to eliminate all the other gangs to do it. Everyone knows that you own this part of Ninjago City with an iron fist, but no one challenges you because despite how shitty the squalors are, they’re way better than they used to be. That’s why I want to hire you, you can do what needs to be done.”

“That’s a nice speech,” Zhang started, “But how can I be sure that killing off fate will result in the people of the squalors living better lives?”

“I can’t guarantee that, but I can guarantee that they’ll be able to at least try to improve their lives instead of being stuck in these conditions because fate forced them to.”

Zhang weighed his options before responding, “Alright you’ve almost convinced me, but there’s one little problem. While I would like to help you, we are still a business and this adventure sounds...expensive.”

Kane silently pulled a small bag of her backpack and tossed it to Zhang. Zhang caught it with one hand and dug in to find several wads of cash. He walked over to the computer and ran the money through what looked to be a counterfeit detector. He smiled upon seeing that the money was real.

“Where did you get all this cash?”

“You have your secrets, I have mine.” Kane walked closer to Zhang, “So are we in business?”

Zhang stood up, shook Kane’s hand, and smiled “We’re in business.”

Zhang and Kane had headed to Kane’s hideout, Kane wanted to blindfold Zhang so he couldn’t find her hideout but that didn't work out. Now they were in traffic driving one of Zhang’s undercover cars, Kane driving and Zhang asking questions.

“You know what I don’t understand,” Zhang started, “how is this conversation happening? I mean, if fate is really just sentient dark matter, then wouldn’t it manipulate events to stop you from killing it?”

“You know how I was an Astrophysicist studying dark matter? I was trying to create an antithesis to dark matter.”

“Why?”

“Ambition I guess, I did it because I wanted to prove that I could.”

“I’m guessing that you did it?” Zhang asked.

“I did, it’s called inverted dark matter, or IDM, It negates the effects of dark matter and–”

“Stops fate from working.” Zhang finished.

“Yes. Anyways, the night I created IDM, there was an accident. I got exposed to IDM, it...purged me of dark matter.”

“Wait how does that even work?”

“Dark matter is in all of us, it’s like I said earlier, it’s everywhere. IDM and dark matter react towards each other like force. If they have equal power, they just cancel each other out. If one is more powerful than the other, it’ll drive the other one away. If there was more IDM present, for example, It’ll push the dark matter away. If it’s strong enough, it’ll kill dark matter.”

“Ok so what do you mean it purged you of dark matter”

“I’m not entirely sure how it fully works but the IDM replaced the dark matter inside me, it severed my connection to fate. I guess you could say i’m fateless. It has the same effect on those I'm near but increases its effects over time.”

“So the longer i’m near you, the more severed from fate i’ll be.”

“Yes.” 

So that’s why Zhang felt like his body was asleep earlier, “But wouldn’t the amount of dark matter around you eventually overpower and destroy the IDM in your body?”

“No, my body naturally produces IDM. I think that as long as i’m alive, I’ll keep producing IDM. And so far, it seems to be enough to keep me separated from fate. Like I said, I don’t fully understand it which is why I keep this as backup.” Kane reached into her backpack, keeping one hand on the wheel, and pulled out a syringe filled with a glowing white liquid. “concentrated IDM. Also I have to stay away from areas with lots of big conflicts because of the huge amounts of dark matter it attracts. I don’t know how badly it’ll hurt me so i’m almost never in Ninjago City.”

Zhang seemed content with that answer because he focused on the road, watching as city streets turned into rundown streets and silence filled the area. About 30 minutes after they left the city Zhang watched as they pulled up to a lone building. 

“An abandoned subway station, not bad.”

“Nope, not bad at all.” Kane agreed, “especially when you have a working but forgotten train. Let’s head inside.”

They entered the building and climbed down some stairs. Zhang looked around as they made their way to a rundown cafe in the subway. Kane pulled the door to the back room open and let Zhang enter through it. Kane flipped a switch and some old lights flickered on, Zhang half expected them to explode. The wall to the right was covered with a dirty old map of Ninjago, it had three specific marks in locations, possible targets? In the corner of the room was what looked to be a chemistry station, next to it were 6 gallons of introverted dark matter. The left wall had a stand with a t.v. on it, though it was off at the moment.  
The rest of the room was mostly cleared out except for the middle. There was a machine in the middle, it was an hourglass shape with a terminal built into it. A level sat to the left of the terminal. There was a funnel shaped dispenser on the right side of it and there was an emitter at the top. The machine was set up on a tripod and was about 4 feet tall. It was clearly made of different scraps of metal but had a rusty color in general. 

“That’s the ‘Fate Disruptor’, it... well, it disrupts fate.” Kane explained.

“Is this how you’re going to destroy fate?”

“Yes but it’s more complicated than that. My plan will require a few barrels of IDM to work. But this machine will keep fate at bay while we make preparations.” 

“Does it work? I’d hate to die because you made a mistake with your machines.”

“Yes, it works. I tested it yesterday, it works though the burst of IDM gives off a feeling of having your body fall asleep.” 

“I’ve noticed. So you can disrupt fate, allowing us to do whatever we want. What’s our next move?”

“We’re going to make a time machine”

Zhang raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes in shock, “What?”

“We are going to time travel, I already have the schematics to build a time machine but I just need the parts, that’s where you and your team come in.”

“But why?”

“We’ll discuss that later. For now, we need to get started.” Kane walked over to the map and pointed at the locations, “These are where we’ll get our parts. I need chronosteal, a supercomputer, and a lot of dark matter. Once we get these items, we’ll be able to go back in time and enact my plan.”

“ I don’t know if I like that you're not telling me everything.” Zhang pointed out

“And I don’t like that you know where my hideout is located, how do I know you aren’t going to turn around and sell me out. I’m just making sure that if things come to that then you can’t blow away my whole plan.”

“Fair enough. Why do you need more dark matter? Can’t you just collect it out of the air or produce more of it or something?”

“I need enough dark matter to make at least a gallon of IDM as well as to power my time machine, collecting it out of the air or making it on my own would take too long.”

“You know that the ninja are going to try to stop us right? My men are good, but I don’t think they can stop the ninja. And if we do these robberies, then we’ll be on their radar.”

“We just need to get the parts and not attract the ninja’s attention. Either way, If they find out about my plan, I think they’ll agree. Especially considering the amount of trials they’ve been forced to be put through. Kane grabbed a remote and turned on the t.v. The program being shown was Kennedy Kurrent’s interview of the ninja from 2 days ago. “And thanks to this interview, we have some trump cards to pull on them.”

“That won’t be enough,” Zhang argued, “Earlier, you said that I took over the squalors by being ruthless. That’s what’s needed to hold the ninja at bay, and I don’t think you have what it takes to be ruthless.”

“Why are you suddenly accusing me of being incapable?”

“Because i’m sending my men to do your dirty work. You’re the leader in this situation and that means that you must be either willing to do what you have to in order to achieve your goals or fail.”

“If you're suggesting that I can’t destroy fate without giving up my personal morals, then you’re wrong, and you have no idea what i’m capable of.”

“Ha,” Zhang laughed, “if you can succeed with plans this ambitious without giving up your morals, you’d be the first to do it.” 

Kane folded her arms and stared directly into Zhang’s eyes, “So are you still in or what?”

“Oh i’m still in, i’m just trying to warn you of the personal sacrifices you might have to make on this journey.”

Kane ignored Zhang’s comment and headed towards the fate disruptor. She grabbed a gallon of concentrated IDM and started pouring it into the dispenser.

“Well we can’t do anything with all this dark matter trying to control us.” Kane started powering up the fate disruptor, “This disruptor will scatter all the dark matter in Ninjago as long as it is supplied with IDM. A gallon a day should suffice so we have about 6 days to get more dark matter. Once I flip this switch, a wave of IDM will blast through Ninjago, disrupting fate. We’ll be free to do whatever we want.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Zhang questioned.

“Just a warning, you won’t feel the wave itself. You will feel the effect of the IDM so prepare to have your whole body fall asleep.”  
“Do you think the ninja will notice?”

“They shouldn’t. It’s nighttime so I don’t think a lot of people will notice.” Kane responded.

“Ok then, do the honors.”

Kane grabbed the level and hesitated before pulling it down.

Both Zhang and Kane lost their balance, but neither fell to the floor. Zhang sat himself down and after a couple of minutes, he felt his arms and legs start to wake up. He looked over to see that Kane had already gotten up, she offered him her hand and he took it.

“How do you feel?” Kane asked. 

“I feel like I could do anything I wanted, but also my body feels a little weird.”

“Good, that’s your body reacting to the IDM, it should subside soon.” 

“Why were you affected? Shouldn’t you be used to the IDM?” Zhang asked.

“I’ve only been exposed to small doses, never enough to cover a whole city. My body’s not used to IDM on this level.”

Kane walked over to the fate disruptor. She checked the terminal, making sure that everything was running smoothly.”

“Ok, we’re good,” Kane said while breathing a sigh of relief.

“So what’s next?”

Kane went to the map on the wall and pointed to one of the marked locations on the map, “We need to hit this location first. It has the chronosteel, which forms the base for the time machine.”

“Where is it?”

“A little shop called ‘Ronin's weapons’”

“Ok, let me call some of my men. It’ll be better if a small team of us go at night to avoid detection.”

“I’m coming with you,” Kane announced.

“No you’re not. Have you ever been in a robbery, or seen combat? Because that’s very easily what could happen. My men are trained specifically to handle situations like these, you’ll be distracting”

“I’m coming, you don't know how much Chronosteel I need. Do you even know what chronosteel looks like?”

Zhang didn’t say anything as Kane had a point.

“That’s what I thought, just tell me when we leave.”

“Well, you are the boss. But just so you know, if you get shot and killed, i’m still keeping the money.” Zhang warned.

“Deal.” Kane agreed.

Zhang shook his head and walked out to get a better signal on his phone.   
Kane waited for him to leave and then pulled a picture out of her shirt pocket. The photo showed a younger Kane, a man with blond hair and brown eyes, and a little girl. They were all smiling. Kane kissed the picture, put it back in her pocket, and pushed her sadness down.

“And so it begins,” She whispered to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of the antagonist? Do you understand or agree with Kane’s viewpoints? What do you think of Kane and Zhang as characters?
> 
> Did the concept of fate make sense to you? Please let me know because I want you guys to be able to understand it as it's a big part of the story. I know that you guys know this but just in case, this is Not real science. I have no idea how real dark matter works.
> 
> Fun fact: I based the squalors on Freeside from my favorite video game, Fallout: New Vegas.
> 
> Question: What is your favorite video game (or any other piece of media if you don't play video games)?


	5. The Investigation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja Investigate a robbery and become aware of Kane and Zhang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you guys listened to the shintaro dungeon whip yet? I loved it and while I wished that there were more lyrics, the instrumentation is great.
> 
> Also i've estimated that the story will be around 13-15 chapters long, depending on how long certain scenes will be.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Sensi Wu finished his morning meditation as he heard the ninja training outside. He checked the time, 9 a.m., the ninja would be finishing soon. Wu thought back to the old days when he’d have to force the original four ninja to get up, except for Zane of course. And now... they didn’t even need him to get up. It had been unexpected that Wu would get sentimental over such a small detail, but when did the time go by? When did his ninja grow up? Wu looked at a photo on his bookshelf. It was of the ninja, taken right after the defeat of Morrow during a celebration of Nya becoming a ninja. They all looked so different. 

Kai had fewer scars and his original spiky hair cut. Jay’s freckles hadn’t formed yet and he still had the old haircut his parents always gave him. Cole hadn’t grown his hair out yet. Lloyd’s eyes hadn’t turned green yet and he didn’t hit his late puberty yet. Zane hadn’t upgraded his body yet, he still had his original titanium body. Nya was still keeping her hair short. Even Wu didn’t grow out his sideburns yet.

Wu sighed and thought of the two years. Aspheria, Vex, and Unagami had all tried in some way to beat the ninja. They all failed and the ninja have been able to keep the city safe...without his guidance. Wu usually didn’t think pessimistically but he couldn’t help but wonder how much the ninja truly needed him?  
Wu quickly pushed those thoughts out of his mind and decided to check on the ninja. He got up from his meditation pad and made his way outside. The ninja were in the courtyard of the monastery, all dressed in their practice gear and fighting each other. 

On the left side of the courtyard, Kai was dueling Lloyd. Kai threw a left hook that was dodged by Lloyd who retaliated with a cross straight to Kai’s face. Kai stepped back, shook off the sting from Lloyds punch and readied himself as Lloyd brought up his left leg to do a side kick. Kai threw all of his force into stepping into Lloyd’s side kick. He met Lloyd’s left leg with his left forearm, stopping Lloyd’s momentum. Before Lloyd’s leg could come back down, Kai rotated into Lloyd’s body and slammed his right elbow straight into Lloyd’s diaphragm. Lloyd went flying back away from Kai. Lloyd quickly recovered and then went to meet Kai’s right uppercut. Lloyd blocked Kai with his left arm in a downward movement. Lloyd then grabbed Kai’s right arm and then rotated Kai’s arm behind his back and anticipated Kai’s attack. Kai swung back with a left elbow, Lloyd evaded, then he grabbed the top of Kai’s head and pulled it down. Kai felt himself fall to the floor, but he shifted his weight and did a backwards roll instead. Kai rolled and once he felt his hands on the floor, he pushed off them and sprung backwards, creating space between himself and Lloyd. Lloyd caught his breath while Kai wiped sweat off his brow and took off towards Lloyd.

Wu shifted his focus towards the right side of the courtyard and saw Jay battling Zane. Jay wheel kicked at Zane who simply leaned back to avoid Jay. coming down from the wheel kick, Jay then attempted a sweep kick, to which Zane evaded by lifting his lead leg. Jay came up and initiated a side kick with his right leg, Zane slapped Jay’s kick away and attacked Jay’s chest with a chain punch, before pushing Jay to the ground. As Jay started falling to the ground, he performed a low drop kick and connected with Zane’s shins and both the ice and lightning ninjas went down. Zane recovered and threw a high kick at Jay, who performed an esquiva to dodge the kick. Zane performed a front thrust kick with his left leg. Jay easily dodged by step to the side. Zane side kicked at Jay who did a side flip to dodge the attack. Jay landed and then performed a backflip kick, which connected with Zane’s chin. Zane flipped backwards and landed on his back. Jay stopped to check on Zane who surprised him with a kick to the chest. Jay tripped backwards but then did a backflip to stabilize himself. Jay and Zane turned to engage each other once more.

Wu turned to the center where Cole and Nya were fighting. Nya threw a straight punch at Cole with her right arm. Cole blocked with his left arm and then performed a shoulder throw on Nya. Nya hit the ground and did a kick up to recovery. She then did a spinning wheel kick with her left leg. Cole ducked under Nya’s leg and threw a hook into Nya’s right side. Nya took a step back to recover and decided to play defense. Cole kicked at Nya’s knee with his right leg to which Nya kicked the knee of Cole’s left foot, sending him crumbling to the floor. Nya kicked at Cole who rolled backwards and got on a knee. As Nya drew closer Cole charged and took Nya down with a double leg. Nya went on to her back as Cole climbed on top of her and sat on Nya’s waist. Cole punched at Nya's face only to be blocked by Nya. Nya grabbed Cole’s right shoulder, hit Cole’s back with her left knee, and used the momentum to reverse their positions. Nya quickly jumped off of Cole, knowing that he was the best grappler among them and waited for Cole to attack her. Cole threw a quick jab, Nya dodged it and tried to side kick Cole’s right side. Cole caught Nya’s ankle, wrapping his arm around it, and pushed on Nya’s inner thigh, sending her to the ground. Nya kicked Cole’s hand, freeing his grip on her and allowing Nya to get back on her feet. They both charged into each other.

Wu decided to shake things up and see how the ninja would do, “Kai with Nya, Lloyd with Zane, and Cole with Jay!”

The ninja got up and ran to engage their assigned opponents. These pairing were the most interesting to Wu because they complimented each other's fighting surprisingly well. First, Wu focused on Kai and Nya. they complimented each other through their aggression, Kai was aggressively offensive while Nya was aggressively defensive.  
Wu watched as Kia threw a right hook and a cross at Nya, who dodge the hook and blocked the cross with a downward strike and kicked Kai’s chest with her left leg. Kai stumbled back and then launched a backwards elbow against Nya, which she evaded. Kai faked an uppercut and grabbed Nya’s arm when she went to block it. He pulled her in close and headbutted her. Nya stumbled back and Wu winced. 

While Cole was the strongest of the group, Kai hit the hardest. He fought with his fists, elbows, and head. Kai trained these limbs to the point of being able to punch, elbow, or headbutt a banana tree into falling over, Kai often could one shot his opponents And while they weren’t going their hardest, that didn't mean that they didn’t hurt. But while Kai was a very capable offensive fighter, he was lacking in defense, especially with his legs. When going against normal people, this was a minor set back, more skilled people however, would exploit this to defeat Kai.

Nya backed up before letting Kai attack her with a jab. Nya evaded and kicked Kai in the side of the knee, and then punched Kai in the face. Kai backed up and swung at Nya with a right hook. Nya ducked under his swing and punched Kai in the diaphragm, then she stood up and kicked in the back of Kai’s right knee and kicked him to the ground, before getting up.  
Wu watched as Nya dodged Kai’s attacks and countered with her own. That was Nya’s strong suit, her timing was impeccable and made her the strongest of the ninja in terms of defense. The problem with Nya was that she could very easily be overwhelmed by someone who is constantly on the offense or forces her to attack first. Wu watched this happen in real time as Kai threw a series of quick jabs at Nya’s face and chest. Eventually, Nya got overwhelmed as Kai made contact with her guy before slamming an elbow down on her shoulder. Nya went to the ground and Kai knelt down to check on her. Nya sat up and kicked Kai in the chest before getting in a defensive position. 

Wu turned to see how Zane and Lloyd were fairing against each other. Lloyd threw a right jab followed by a left hook. Zane easily avoided the jab, then he simultaneously blocked Lloyd’s hook with his right hand while striking Lloyd’s thorax with an open palm. Lloyd staggered back and Zane finished with a swift kick to the inside of Lloyd's left knee. Lloyd recovered and attempted a side kick at Zane’s left side, Zane simply stepped back to get out of Lloyd's range. Lloyd did an aerial kick and Zane swept the leg that Lloyd was supposed to land on and Lloyd landed hard on his side.  
Wu observed as Zane continued to doge Lloyd’s attacks. Sometimes Wu would almost go so far as to say that Zane was the best overall fighter. He was definitely the best tactician as well as the most practical of the ninja. Zane’s precision was on point and he was the best at reading an opponent and planning the fight ahead. The only thing that could best Zane, other than pure skill, was a mixture of different fighting styles. Zane’s advantage came from his ability to read and counter a person based on their skills and fighting prowess. If one were to be unpredictable or hard to read, Zane would be forced to fight on equal ground. Coincidentally, Lloyd was a jack of all trades. Having trained under all the ninja, Lloyd had picked up different skills from each of them and as a result, was a very unpredictable fighter. Lloyd was the most adaptable of the ninja. But the thing with Lloyd is that while he was a jack of all trades, he also mastered none. And that is why Wu felt that Zane and Lloyd complimented each other. Zane thrived on being able to strategize while Lloyd thrived on his ability to adapt. When Lloyd and Zane fought, you never knew what would come out on top, Zane’s strategy or Lloyd’s adaptability.

Zane dodged as Lloyd swung a left hook and tried to chain punch Lloyd. Lloyd did a backflip to dodge Zane and then charged in and managed to get a single leg on Zane and kicked his other leg, sending Zane to the floor. Zane got up and swung his right arm to chop at Lloyd’s neck but Lloyd blocked with his left hand and palm slapped Zane’s thorax with his right arm. Lloyd then kicked at Zane’s knee, to which Zane blocked. Lloyd headbutted Zane. Zane got up and waited for Lloyd to attack. Lloyd faked a right hook before hitting Zane with a butterfly kick. Zane went to the ground as Lloyd got on him and started grappling.

Finally, Wu focused on Jay and Cole as they fought each other. Jay kicked at Cole who kicked Jay in return. Jay threw a left jab at Cole. Cole struck Jay’s arm down with his right elbow. He then warped his right arm around Jay’s left arm, grabbed Jay’s shirt collar, kicked the back of Jay’s left leg, and threw him to the ground. Jay kicked up and backflipped away from Cole and then jumped into a right hook kick. Cole slid under Jay’s kick and tried to grab Jay’s left leg. Jay cartwheeled away from Cole grasp. Jay ran to Cole and tried to do a frontflip over the earth ninja. Cole caught Jay and threw him to the ground. Jay got up as Cole approached him and started flipping at random, trying to confuse Cole while Cole stood his ground and waited for an opportunity. Jay charged at Cole and slid in between Cole’s legs. He came out from behind Cole and swept him off his feet. 

Cole and Jay were completely different from each other. Cole, like the earth itself, was very stubborn. He was the most durable and stable of the group. Cole was a master of throws and balance, and yet he was like a truck at the same time. He could take a hit and deal back twice as hard. He was also the slowest of the group. By no means was Cole slow compared to normal people, but to the ninja, it was noticeable. As a result, Cole would be easier to take down if one could just tire him out. Cole knew this, and to compensate, he’d either finish the fight as fast as he could or he would wait for the other person to attack in order to preserve his energy. He’d also get close to his opponents in order to finish the conflict.

Jay was the opposite in just about every way. Wu remembered Jay’s elation the very first time he did a flip, around 10 years later and acrobatics were a key factor in Jay’s acrobatic fighting style. All of the ninja could do flips and had varying levels of acrobatic knowledge (a fact that often surprised those who fought Cole) but none of them were on Jay’s level, though Lloyd was a not so close second. It helped that Jay was the leanest of the ninja, besides Lloyd. In addition to being the most agile, Jay also had the most stamina. He could run faster and longer than all of the other ninja. But because he was the lightest and was used to keeping enemies at a distance, all one would have to do in order to catch Jay off guard was close in the distance, enter Cole.  
So with Jay and Cole, It was a question of what situation would happen first; would Cole get to Jay and take him down, or would Jay keep out of distance and tire Cole out before finishing him off?Jay ran to Cole, jumped, and did a 360 degree kick with his left leg while folding his right leg. Cole ducked under Jay’s left leg but as he ducked, Jay kicked out with his right leg and connected with Cole’s left temple before falling to the ground. Cole collapsed onto the floor and Jay ran over to check on him.

Wu heard footsteps behind him, “Lovely morning today, wouldn’t you say so, Pixal?”

Pixal walked to where We was to face him, “Yes, it was a lovely morning. So lovely, In fact, that a few criminals decided to rob Ronin’s shop.”

Wu turned to Pixal and raised an eyebrow. Normally robberies would be handled by the police. Ronin however, was an ally, and the Ninja always helped their allies. Wu looked down to the ninja who were all checking on Cole, before facing Pixal.

“What do we have on the case?”

“I do not believe that these are lowlife opportunist,” Pixal started, “Ronin has a reputation for his cunning and vengefulness attitude, most of the locals know not to go after Ronin and his merchandise. And speaking of merchandise, Ronin stated that only one thing was missing, the rest of the store was thrashed but accounted for. I believe that this was planned by a group of organized people who were looking for a specific item.”

Wu stroked his beard, Ronin had lots of specific merchandise. If someone went to the trouble of robbing Ronin, they were up to something bigger than scoring next month’s rent.

“Ok, let’s inform the team of this robbery.”

The ninja entered Ronin’s shop and followed Ronin back to the backroom. Cole was still on the ship with Pixal watching over him. Cole had insisted that he was fine until they found that he had started forming a small concussion. Pixal and Lloyd both wanted Cole to stay behind. 10 minutes and about a dozen apologies from Jay later, Cole agreed to stay on the ship with Pixal while the other five ninja went to see Ronin. 

The store was a mess. Gunshots littered the walls and merchandise. A huge scorch mark laid near a bookshelf. The whole place was wet and smelled of fire. Ronin directed the backroom to view the security tapes while he mumbled complaints about his store.

“Unbelievable, un-freaking-believable. What’s a guy gotta do to set-up a store and not get robbed? This never happened when I was a criminal. ‘Be better’ Nya said, ‘live an honest life’ Nya said. I try to live honestly but do people leave me alone? Nooo, They go rob me and risk having a suspicious accident happen to them. Unbelievable.”

Jay leaned towards Kai and whispered, “Uh...is he talking to himself or us?”

“Honestly, I have no fucking clue.”

Ronin sat down at the security tapes while the ninja formed up behind him.

“Did they not disable the security cameras or tapes?” Zane asked, “That would be quite foolish of them.”

“Oh they did,” Ronin responded, “Luckily, I have a whole other set of hidden cameras that caught the whole robbery.”

“Well this makes things easier.” Nya commented.

“You bet, now let’s see who took my chronosteel.”

The ninja and Ronin started watching the tape. At around 1 in the morning, about 4 people walked up to the door. They located as many cameras as they could find and shot them from outside with silenced pistols, unaware that more cameras were recording them. The alarms sounded off and the 4 people entered the building. One the people, probably the leader, looked around the room before pointing to a bundle of metal on a shelf. The leader conversed with one of the other people, they had a sword on their back. The last two people went to lift the chronosteel of the shelf. As soon as the pressure shifted, a turret popped out from a spot in the ceiling and started firing at everyone. The leader got shot and started bleeding, but they took cover behind a bookcase. The two men rushed out of the store with the chronosteel. The third man pulled out a red katana, rushed over to flank the turrets and sliced it in half.

“Zhang?” Kai quietly whispered to himself, though only Nya heard it.

The man with the katana picked up the leader and together, they rushed out the store. Finally the man with the sword walked backed in and threw a grenade into the store before leaving. A few seconds later, the room burst into flames before the sprinkler system kicked on. Ronin paused the video and started reviewing it for clues

“Kai what did you say –” Nya turned to Kai only to find that all the color had drained from his face, “– Kai what’s wrong?”

The rest of the ninja gazed at Kai who looked like he just saw a ghost. 

“I..I think I have a lead. I’m gonna go check it out.” Kai announced as he started to walk out of the backroom. 

“Wait, Kai where are you going?” Lloyd asked.

“To see an old friend. And i’m gonna do this on my own.”

“Where?”

Kai didn’t answer Lloyd. 

“Kai, who’s Zhang?” Nya questioned.

Ronin stopped typing and looked at Nya, “Did you say Zhang? How would you even know about him?

“I recognize the sword.” Kai hesitantly responded.

“Who’s Zhang?” Nya asked again.

“A very dangerous man who leads a small army of elite mercenaries, they call themselves the ‘Taskmaster.’” Zhang answered, “ Kai if you truly think that Zhang is a part of this, then I think the squalors would be the best place to start.”

“The squalors?” Jay asked.

“The squalors are the poorest and most crime ridden section of the city.” Ronin responded, “They used to be extremely dangerous until our friend, Zhang, came in and killed all the gangs and took over.”

“You are not going to traverse there right, kai?” Zane asked.

“I’ll be fine.” Kai retorted.

“I wouldn’t go alone if I were you,” Ronin challenged, “Zhang has a grip over that part of the city, and he uses his Taskmasters to keep the peace. They’ll know if you go there.”  
“I can handle myself.”

“I’m not saying that. I’m saying that as far as I know, Zhang has at least 40 mercenaries on his payroll, and all of them are slightly better trained and more equipped than I am, slightly.” Ronin answered.

“Ok, well if any of that’s true, you’re not going alone.” Nya told Kai

“It’s no big deal, I’ll be fine.”

“No, Nya’s right, Kai. Nya and Jay will go with you.”

Kai somehow sighed angrily before speaking, “Not Jay. Not offense Jay, but you’re a little...impulsive. And people in the squalors don’t like impulsive activity.”

Zane arched an eyebrow and looked at Kai, “How would you know about that?”

Kai was taken aback before stating, “Look, whoever is coming with me, let’s hurry the fuck up!”

With that Kai and Nya walked out to the front of the store. Lloyd looked at Zane.

“Zane, you go with Kai and Nya. I know that you’re kind of the best one at investigations but Kai seems off and if Ronin is right about the squalors, your calm attitude might help make sure nothing happens to Kai and Nya. Jay and I will stay here and see what else we can find.”

“Affirmative, Lloyd.” Zane responded. He then turned on his human form and rushed out to join Kai and Nya.  
Lloyd, Jay, and Ronin remained and started discussing notes. 

“So they clearly started the fire to destroy any possibility of evidence getting traced back to them.” Lloyd commented.

“Could there be any evidence that they missed?” Jay asked.

“Only one way to find out.” Lloyd concluded.

The three men went out to the front of the store and started combing over the crime scene. Lloyd checked the area near the scorch marks, Ronin checked the destroyed torrent, and Jay looked over the shelf where the chronosteel was stolen from.  
Jay looked for anything out of the ordinary while thinking about what Kai had said. Sure Jay was impulsive at times, but he could control himself when need be. Jay wasn’t so impulsive that he’d ruin the mission; well accept for Nadakhan and Unagami. Wait, was that why Kai didn’t want Jay around? Was he afraid that he’d get someone else killed?  
Jay felt his heart rate increase and he stood up to get air. He stared off into space and felt his palms grow sweaty. Did Kai hate him for getting his sitter killed? Did he trust him? He thought that Jay was useless didn’t he, he wouldn’t be wrong to do so. Jay couldn’t do anything right. That’s why he gave Cole a concussion, he was a failure. Jay gripped the shelf to keep himself balanced. He closed his eyes and struggled to keep the memories down. He felt like he was suffocating. Everything was closing in on him. Jay’s breathing got heavier and heavier. He felt like he was about to pass out when he heard Lloyd’s voice.

“Jay, are you ok?”

Jay tried to slow his breathing but freaked out when Lloyd put his hand on Jay's shoulder. Jay instinctively kicked Lloyd in the stomach. Lloyd was knocked down but quickly recovered. 

“Breath Jay, breath.”

Ronin had taken notice, walked behind the counter, and pulled a gun of some sort. He then aimed and shot Jay in the wrist. Jay slowly calmed down before losing consciousness. He fell and would have hit his head had Lloyd not caught him. Lloyd gently set Jay down on the floor and glared at Ronin.

“What the heck did you shoot him with?”

“Melatonin. It’ll help him relax, though he’ll have a headache when he wakes up.”

Lloyd shook his head and radioed Pixal, “Pixal can you hear me?”

“Yes Lloyd, how may I help you?”

“I think Jay had a panic attack, can you come pick him up?”

“Certainly. Cole, Wu, and I will be there shortly.”

“See you soon.”

“Found something!” Ronin exclaimed, he showed a piece of a broken vase with droplets of blood on it.

Lloyd looked at Ronin and Jay, “Ok, first things first, Do you have a bed or something for Jay?”

“In the break room, let’s go.”

Lloyd carefully picked up Jay and followed Ronin into the break room. Ronin gestured towards the couch and grabbed a pillow and blanket. Lloyd gently placed Jay on the couch and fixed the pillow under his head, Then Ronin covered Jay with the blanket.

Ronin took one look at Jay before speaking, “Well...on with the investigation.”

“Seriously?” Lloyd questioned while gesturing to Jay.

“What? He’s fine. Besides, the sooner we run this blood through a test, the sooner you two can get outta here.” With that Ronin went into the backroom. Lloyd hesitated before following him. 

Ronin sat down at a mini lab station, scraped some of the blood into a vial and started running the tests. 

“This test runs through all hospital and blood donation records. If our leader has ever been to a hospital or donated blood, it'll tell us.”

Lloyd and Ronin waited for about 30 more seconds before a report was printed out. Ronin grabbed it and smiled, “Lloyd I believe you should look into one, Elizabeth Kane.”

Lloyd stood on the deck of the Bounty. Ronin had printed him a copy of the report of this Kane character. Now they were on their way to the Ninjago City University (NCU), Kane’s old workplace, to find out why a former astrophysicist would steal chronosteel. Since both Jay and Cole were temporarily out of the picture, Pixal agreed to go to the N.I.A. with Lloyd while Misako stayed behind to watch over the other two ninja. Lloyd went to check on Jay and Cole before departing for the mission.  
Lloyd entered the room and found his mom checking Cole’s eyes while Jay was still asleep. 

“Hey mom, how’s Cole doing?”

“Well, He’s not gonna get better anytime soon. Ask again in a week or so.” Misako replied.

“I’m fine,” Cole insisted, “I’ll be back to normal in a couple days.”

“Really,” Misako raised her hand, “give me a high five.”

Cole went to high five Misako and completely missed her hand

“Well then, you’re not fine. Sit back down.”

Cole did as he was told before looking at Jay, “When’s he gonna wake up?”

“About 2-3 hours from now,” Lloyd answered, “Cole, I know that you and Jay are close and that you two share secrets you don’t want the rest of us to know. But you need to tell me what’s going on with Jay.”

Cole stared blankly at him before responding, “What did you say?” 

“Concussion, remember?” Misako reminded Lloyd.

Just then Pixal entered the room and looked at Lloyd, “We are approaching our destination. Prepare yourself as I will be waiting for you.”

“No need to Pixal, I’m ready.” Lloyd responded before following Pixal outside. 

Pixal got into the Samurai mech suit while Lloyd climbed onto the top of it. They leaped off the Bounty and flew to the NCU When they landed, Lloyd and Pixal had gone to the administration office and were sent on their way to the Astrophysics lab. As they walked, Lloyd decided to talk with Pixal.

“So, how are you and Zane doing?”

“I have reason to believe that he will propose to me in the near future.” Pixal casually stated.

Lloyd stopped walking, completely off guard, “Wait what?”

Pixal formed a smile on her face, “He has been talking about marriage at an exponential rate. And lately I have accidentally caught him rehearsing a speech. He was very nervous when I questioned him about it.”

Lloyd hugged Pixal, sometimes he forgot that Zane and Pixal had been together almost as long as Jay and Nya have, “I’m really happy for you.”

“Thank you, Lloyd. But it’s not for certain yet.”

“Well, we can hope.”

With that, Lloyd and Pixal made their way to the lab. The lab was about the size of a classroom and was sterile white. There was a rack of hazard suits and goggles, all white. There was a t.v. hung in the right corner of the room and was playing a particularly famous interview from a few days ago. When Pixal and Lloyd entered, a young man was working alone and inspecting a dark sloshy liquid at the counter. As he noticed the Green ninja and Samurai X approaching him, he turned off the t.v. and went to meet them. 

“Welcome, my name is Timothy, call me Tim though. How can I help you?” Tim smiled and offered his hand to Lloyd and then to Pixal.

“I’m Lloyd and this is Pixal. We’re sorry to bother you but we have a few questions about Elizabeth Kane.”

Tim’s smile disappeared and he sat down in a chair while taking off his goggles, “I haven’t heard about Kane in a long time.”

“So you knew her?” Pixal asked.

“Yeah, she was my mentor. But I haven’t seen her in five years.”

“We need you to explain to us the last time you saw her. She might be involved in a recent crime.” Lloyd said.  
Tim looked up in surprise, “She’s alive?”

Pixal looked at Lloyd before responding, “Yes, we have reason to believe she is. But we need you to tell us what you know about her.” 

Tim smiled but then looked down, as if he was recalling an unpleasant memory, “Last time I saw her, she was anomalous, broken, and chasing ghosts.”

“What do you mean by that,” Pixal asked, “I understand that this might be upsetting, however, it is imperative that you tell us anything that might help us...secure her.”

Tim sighed, “Kane was a genius, especially at astrophysics. I started school when she was one of the lead researchers in dark matter. I when I applied to the fast track version of the Astrophysics PhD. program, She took me on as her protege. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.”

Lloyd let Time take a breath before pressing on, “What happened.”

“She lost her family, I don’t know all the details, but a car accident took out her husband and daughter. I had dinner with them a couple of times, they were really nice.’ Tim took a moment to collect himself, “Anyways afterwards, Kane poured herself into her work. It got so bad that the school had to pretty much threaten her in order to go home. That went on for about 6 months. But then one day she tells me that she ‘figured it all out’. She started talking about fate and how it needed to be destroyed. She said that we were all slaves and that she was gonna free us.”  
“Fate?” Lloyd asked while looking at Pixal, “Even if that were true, how would someone destroy fate?”

Pixal shrugged her shoulders and let Him continue.

“The school found out about her ramblings and temporarily suspended her from working and sent her to a therapist. Two weeks later they found out that she had been stealing dark matter from the school and working at her house and took away her doctorate degree. They were gonna arrest her but she slipped away and I haven’t heard from her since. I didn't even know if she was alive or not until you two showed up”

Pixal knelt down to Tim’s “I am extremely sorry to hear that Timothy, and I appreciate your honesty. Unfortunately, It is time for me and Lloyd to make our leave.”

Tim nodded his head in approval before Lloyd and Pixal started heading out the lab door.

“Wait!” Tim stood up and yelled to Pixal and Lloyd. They both stopped to listen to what he had to say, “I don’t know how much Kane has changed, but I know that whatever she’s trying to do, she probably believes that she’s the hero. And what I do know is that she’s not a villain.”

Lloyd looked at Tim, then Pixal, and then back at Tim, “At the moment, we’re just focused on locating her. You don’t have to worry about any unfair treatment.”

With that, Lloyd and Pixal left the lab and radioed the Bounty to come and pick them up.

Nya, Kai, and Zane landed on a corner street in the squalors. Kai immediately walked up to a local, grabbed them by the shirt, and started interrogating them.

“Hey you, where’s Paco?”

The local looked Kai in the eyes, “I don’t know who you’re–”  
The local stopped talking when Kai pulled up his mask and lit his free hand on fire, “Ok, ok. He’s working at a shop on the corner of 1st street and roadhouse avenue.”

Kai dropped the local before walking in the direction of the store. Nya and Zane glanced at each other before following Kai. 

“Kai, who’s Paco?” Nya asked.

Kai completely ignored her and kept walking. Eventually the three reached the store and Kai turned around to face the water and ice ninja.

“I’m going in, I’ll be quick. Don’t talk to anyone, and don’t come in.”

“Kai what are you–” Kai walked into the store before Nya could finish her thought. 

Kai went to the young man behind the counter. The man, who she guessed was Paco, smiled at Kai and tried to hug him. Kai sidestepped Paco and started talking to him in an aggressive fashion. 

“Pardon me Nya,” Zane asked, “might I ask a favor?”

Nya took a second to peel her eyes off of Kai before responding to Zane, “Sure, what do you need?”

Zane formed a nervous smile, “I am going to asked for Pixal’s hand in marriage.”

“Oh Zane, congratulations!” Nya hugged Zane, “I better be the maid of honor.”

“Yes, I am almost certain you would be the maid of honor. There is a personal problem, however.”

Nya leaned against the door and listened to Zane.

“You see, I have made proper preparations. Pixal likes her privacy and freedom of choice, therefore, I will propose to her on our own. I have planned a picnic and a walk to the Borg facilities, it is where we first met and it is where I will propose. In addition, I have successfully acquired Cyrus Borg’s blessing.”

“So what’s the issue?”

“It is common knowledge that the act of proposing usually involves an emotionally driven speech. I have never been the most successful at expressing sad emotions.”

Nya lifted her head in shock, “Zane, you’re pretty good at expressing emotions.”

Zane gripped his left hand out of nervousness, “Not emotions of love. I was wondering if you could help me compose my proposal speech?”

Nya beamed at the offer, “Zane, I'd be honored to!”

Zane let out his breath and smiled, “Thank, you.” He then frowned and looked behind Nya.

Nya turned around to see Kai grab Paco by the arm and pressed him up against the wall. Nya and Zane looked at each and nodded before heading into the store. Nya heard Kai yelling at Paco as he entered the building.

“I don’t give a fuck about the Wolves, just tell me where Zhang’s building is.”

“Kai you of all people should know not to draw Zhang’s attention.” Paco responded.

“Kai, what the hell is going on,” Nya challenged. 

Kai turned to her and Zane and frowned, “I thought I told you to stay outside Nya!” Kai then let go of Paco.

“Ah, so this is the famous Nya. Your brother and I go way back.”

Kai conjured fire in his open palm, “Not. Another. Word.”

Paco backed up, clearly freaked out. “What the hell man, since when can you do that? Would’ve come in handy a lotta times.”

Kai held the flames closer to Paco’s face, “tell me how to get to Zhang or I burn up this whole piece of shit store.”

“Ok man, your funeral. He’s set up at the corner of 2nd and main street.”

Kai immediately turned and headed out the door, “Come on guys, the sooner we find Zhang, the sooner we can leave this hell hole.”

Nya followed Kai for a solid 10 minutes before deciding that she wanted answers. Even though she could feel Kai’s anger radiating off him, she decided to question him.

“How do you know about Zhang?”

Kai didn’t even acknowledge her.

“Why have you been to the squalors?”

Kai huffed but kept moving and gave no response.

“How did you used to know Paco.”

Kai stopped and faced Nya, “Stop fucking asking me these goddamn questions.” Kai then turned around and continued walking.

Eventually, they reached Zhang’s Taskmasters and entered the building. Zane took the lead and went to the attendant at the desk, a woman with short hair. She looked up and greeted the ninja

“Hello, my name is Briggs. How may I help you?”

“Greeting I am Zane, I seek to speak with Zhang, if that is ok with you.”  
Briggs slightly narrowed her eyes, “May I ask why.”

Zane knotted her suspicious nature, “We have encountered a situation which could require his expertise.”

Briggs nodded her head, “Well, unfortunately, Zhang is not currently here. I'm sure that you can find him here tomorrow”

“Bullshit, “ Kai interjected, “you just want us out of here.”

“If you keep pestering me like that, then I will want you out of here.” Briggs stated.

“Kai––” Zane started before being interrupted.

“Just tell us where Zhang is.”

“That is none of your concern”

“Why, is he too busy robbing stores to see us?” Kai instantly regretted his statement as Briggs figured out their purpose for being here.

Briggs calmly pulled out her pistol and aimed at Kai while pressing a button on the desk. Soon, two guards came out, each armed with an assault rifle. 

“What’s the problem sir?” one of the guards asked Briggs.

“Please have these three escorted. If they resist, lethal force is authorized.”

“Yes sir,” The guard replied.

Briggs watched the three ninja leave the building before making a phone call.

“What’s the situation, Briggs?” Zhang asked.

“The ninja came as you predicted. Sir, I think it’s time for us to relocate in order to avoid a risk of a siege”

“My thoughts exactly,” Briggs heard Zhang pull out his pistol and start firing. “Briggs, tell the rest of the boys to pack up and relocate to the abandoned subway.”

Briggs heard more firing and Zhang giving direction before hanging up.

Zane pulled Kai away from the building, followed by Nya, before flicking him on the head.

“It seems that you, in your anger induced blindness, have cost us our investigation. I sincerely hope that your cathartic desires were worth it.”

“Look, i’m sorry, I just lost it.”

“You’ve been losing it ever since you saw Zhang,” Nya started, “And you know I want to know why! Obviously, you’ve been here before, why?”

Kai and Nya stared each other down and Zane recognized that this was between the two siblings and distanced himself. 

Kai sighed and looked down. He then pulled Nya into an alley. Once he made sure that no one could see them, Kai lifted up his shirt and pulled down the left side of his pants a little. On Kai's left leg, about a few inches below his hip was a very faint “W”. 

“What’s that?” Nya asked.

“It’s a tattoo that all members of the Wolves gang have to get.”

“You were a gang member?!” Nya asked.

“Yes.”

“But...that doesn’t make any sense, what did you do?”

“I sold drugs, and Paco was my partner.”

Nya slowly shook her head, “Who did you sell to?”

Kai closed his eyes before responding, “Everyone. Kids, teens, adults, I sold to everyone”

Nya pushed Kai away from her, “Kids? How could you!?”

“I know it wasn’t right or ok but we needed the money,” Kai responded defensively, “mom and dad were gone. I thought they were dead, there weren't too many other options to make money for a kid.”

“What do you mean, we had the blacksmith business.”

Kai huffed, “That was a lie. The business could barely cover rent. The money I made with the wolves paid for our food, clothes, and your toys.”

“So you just helped a bunch of kids and teens possibly ruin or lose their lives.” Nya struggles to control her increasing anger.

“It wasn’t that simple Nya, it was them buying or us starving”

“That doesn’t mean that you get to sell to kids, Kai!” Nya yelled.

“What else was I supposed to fucking do? Tell me!”

“You could’ve had me start working! Maybe then you wouldn’t have had to risk ruining countless lives!”

“You were too young, if anyone started asking questions or reported us, the city would’ve taken you away!”  
“I would rather have risked that then have you do what you did!”

“I wouldn’t!”

“Why!”

“Because I couldn’t lose you too!” Kai shouted before calming himself, “you were the only thing I had left. If they took you away, I don’t think I could live with it, I wouldn't want to live with it.” 

Nya looked to the ground while Kai continued.

“I wish that things were different, but they weren’t. And I hate myself for selling drugs. But that’s what it took to keep you in my life." 

Nya felt conflicted. She understood why her brother did what he did, but she couldn’t help but wonder how much pain Kai had caused. Before she could respond, Zane came running to them.

“Guys, Wu and Pixal just contacted me. There is an attack happening at the NCU, possibly by Zhang. Lloyd and Pixal are there defending but they need our help.”

Nya looked at Kai, “Saved by the bell, come on, let’s go.”

With that, She, Kai, and Zane conjured up their dragons and took off towards the university.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of the fighting styles? Did you feel that it matched the characters' personalities? Do you think Kai was in the right in regards to being a drug dealer? I'm pretty neutral with him.
> 
> Fun Fact: Originally I was gonna have Kane do a prison break and that's how we would get our antagonist group, Zhang would have been a prisoner. However, a minor plot in season 12 was very similar so I changed it to how it is now, and I think I prefer the new version.
> 
> Question: What is your favorite episode of Ninjago?


	6. Divide and Conquer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja celebrate personal victories, question their morals and ethics, and battle a bunch of mercenaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, this chapter feels so long. I have a question for you, do you think Kai should face justice, do his good deeds as a ninja make up for his crime? This doesn’t affect the story, i’m just curious.

Lloyd and Pixal sprinted towards the sound of the explosion and the sight of black smoke. What were the odds that the university would be attacked while they were there? They approached the building on fire, labeled as the computer lab, there were four armed men outside the building. The men were wearing black onesies, which were laced with red lines going up the legs, chests, and arms. The onesies were most likely made of kevlar. On top of the kevlar, the men wore black chest, leg, and arm armor. Finally, they wore black metal helmets with red eyes. They all noticed the ninja and samurai and aimed their rifles.  
Pixal quickly pulled out four shurikens and launched them into all four of the guns, jamming the rifles. Lloyd charged up his energy blast and shot two of them into a wall. Pixal and Lloyd then went to take out the other two.  
Lloyd flipped over his opponent, and kicked at the man. The man dodged and retaliated with a left hook. Lloyd deflected with his right forearm, then he punched the man in the ribcage with a left uppercut. Finally, Lloyd stepped behind the man, grabbed his head, and slammed it down to the ground to finish the man off. Lloyd turned to see how Pixal was doing.  
Pixal calmly and quickly approached her enemy and waited for him to strike. She quickly ducked under the man’s jab and punched him in the dick. Then she grabbed his right ankle and, with all her strength, threw it upwards. The man wasn’t flexible enough to keep his balance and fell backwards, he hit the back of his head and was out cold.  
Lloyd and Pixal looked at each other and entered the Computer lab to find six more taskmasters and a short man with a red Katana, Zhang.

Zhang looked at the ninja and samurai with surprise, “How did you even get here so quickly?”

Zhang pulled out his pistol and started shooting at Lloyd and Pixal before giving orders to his men, the taskmasters, “Get the computer out of here!”

While Lloyd and Pixal took cover, two taskmasters came running out of the door with a 5ft tall Computing system on a dolly, a third taskmaster was with them to guard. They headed to a black van. Lloyd peered from his cover to see where Zhang was. Zhang was kneeling by a desk while three taskmasters were shooting at Lloyd and Pixal with him. Lloyd saw the three with the computer were exiting the store. Pixal pulled out a smoke grenade and looked to Lloyd. Lloyd pointed at himself and to where Zhang was. Then he pointed to Pixal and the dolly. Pixal nodded in agreement before throwing the grenade into the lab and running to the dolly.  
Lloyd ran into the smokey lab. He came across one taskmaster, grabbed his arm, and broke it before knocking him to the ground. Lloyd tried to listen to sounds made in the smoke. Lloyd saw a silhouette and went attack him when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Lloyd turned and shot energy beams at both the sound of footsteps and the silhouette. The energy cleared the smoke and he saw one of the taskmasters down on the ground, blasted with energy. Where was the last taskmaster and where was Zhang?  
Lloyd got his answer when he was tackled from behind and pushed outside the lab. He elbowed backwards and went to headbutt backwards when his assailant kicked the back of Lloyd’s heels, grabbed his left arm, and threw him to the ground. Lloyd got up and saw Zhang, pistol in hand.

“I gotta be honest,” Zhang started, “you’re kinda disappointing. I mean, who jumps into a smoke cloud like that? There’s easier ways to asphyxiate yourself.”

“I know that you’re working with Kane. What are you two planning to do with the chronosteel and computer?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Zhang replied before firing his pistol. 

Lloyd flipped out of the away before firing a beam at Zhang. Zhang rolled to the left and felt the heat of the energy pass by him. Zhang stood up and drew his katana only to be kicked in the chest. Lloyd pulled out his sword and charged at Zhang. The two warriors clashed their weapons and pulled back, only for Lloyd to realize that his sword was sliced in half by Zhang’s katana. Lloyd looked at his broken weapon in shock and then at Zhang's katana.

“I forgot to tell you,” Zhang chided as he flourished his katana, “my sword’s sharper.”

Zhang repositioned himself, pistol in left hand and katana in right hand. Lloyd stood up and charged his hands with green energy. Then the two men then charged at each other.  
Pixal dodged an attack and threw a shuriken at one of the taskmasters. The taskmaster evaded the shuriken and charged at Pixal, who sidestepped out of the way before punching the guy in the jaw. Pixal watched as all three taskmasters pulled out combat knives and charged at Pixal.  
Pixal flipped away from the first two taskmasters, buying time to focus on the third taskmaster. She blocked the third taskmaster’s swig, kicked him in the head, and pushed him away. She turned around to face the other two taskmasters as one swung at her. Pixal caught the taskmaster’s arm and twisted the knife out of his hand. The second taskmaster swung downward and PIxal blocked the attack of the first taskmaster’s arm. As the knife plunged into the first taskmaster’s arm, Pixal kicked in the knee of the second taskmaster and then kicked her in the head. Just then the third taskmaster came from behind, grabbed Pixal’s right arm and sliced her forearm. Pixal kicked the taskmaster back and quickly examined her arm. It was just a scratch, literally. Pixal felt lucky, had it been a human arm, her brachial artery would have been sliced and she would have been dead.  
Pixal looked at the three taskmasters who were surrounding her. One taskmaster swung at her and she stepped back. The second and third taskmasters attacked at the same time and forced Pixal to roll backwards. She got to her feet and threw two shurikens at the taskmaster with the injured. The taskmaster dodged the first one but took the second one to the chest and fell to the ground. One down, two to go.  
Pixal flipped to the side as a taskmaster pulled out his gun and fired. As she flipped, the second taskmaster grabbed her and threw Pixal to the ground. The taskmaster then got on Pixal and started trying to choke her, forgetting that she was an android. Pixal took out a shuriken and stabbed the man in the right hip. Pixal struggled to catch her breath as the third taskmaster aimed his gun at her. Pixal is a shuriken, her second to last one, at the taskmaster, knocking the gun away from him. He went to stomp on her but Pixal rolled to the left and used her last shuriken to slice the taskmaster’s achilles tendon. The taskmaster fell to the ground and took the shuriken with him. She got up and faced the taskmaster with the wounded hip when the man with the torn heel pulled out his pistol and shot Pixal in the head. Again, she recognized that she was lucky that her metal skin was reinforced, it didn’t she wasn’t affected however. Pixal fell to the ground as her head was filled with ringing and distorted vision. The tastemaker with the injured heel lowered his gun to avoid accidentally shooting the taskmaster with the hurt hip who was attacking Pixal with a knife. He got on top of Pixal and started pushing the knife closer to her eye.  
Lloyd shot an energy beam at Zhang who dodged and fired in return. He ran in close to slice the green ninja who easily flipped out of the way. Zhang turned around to fire but Lloyd blasted the gun out of Zhang’s hand as he saw Pixal on the ground. He blasted Zhang away and rushed to help Pixal. He saw that Pixal had taken out two taskmasters and had a third trying to stab her eye out. Lloyd thought of the two taskmasters he took out in the store and the four that he and Pixal took out in the beginning of the fight. That would make nine taskmasters, but wasn’t there ten?  
Lloyd felt a pain explode in his shoulder and he fell to the ground. Lloyd saw a taskmaster exit the building with a sniper rifle. After picking up his pistol, Zhang and the taskmaster approached Lloyd while conversing.

“What’d you wanna do with him boss?”

“You and Dave get the others in the van. I’ll deal with these two.”

“And the computer?”

Get everyone else in the van first, then the computer. Dave, get off the samurai and help load your comrades in the van!”

The taskmaster, named Dave, got off of Pixal and started helping the injured taskmasters get into the van. Pixal tried to get up, but was clearly in no condition to do so. Zhang looked down and saw Lloyd charging his energy blast in his left hand. So Zhang stepped on Lloyd’s left arm and shot his left hand. Lloyd cried out in pain.

“So much for being the chosen one,” Zhang ridiculed. 

He raised his gun towards Lloyd’s head when a ball of fire blasted Zhang away. Kai and Nya landed and attacked Zhang with Nya using her trident and Kai using his fire.  
Zane landed and picked up Pixal while the bounty appeared out of the smoky cloud. Jay rode his dragon off the bounty and landed on the ground. He grabbed Lloyd while the Bounty got as close to the ground as it could without landing. Zane and Jay used airjitzu to carry Lloyd and Pixal to the deck of the Bounty where Misako and Wu were waiting for them. Jay and Zane gently placed their injured friends on the deck and then flew down to secure the rest of the taskmasters. The taskmasters were all in the van and took off from the blue and white ninja.  
Kai kept blasting Zhang while Nya constantly jabbed at him. Zhang couldn’t properly block Nya because Kai would just shoot fire at where Zhang was. Zhang kept dodging, rolling, and flipping away from the fire and trident. Zhang kicked Nya away and went to stab Kai. Kai jumped back as Zhang cut downward, only the side of Kai’s pants. Zhang went to attack, and hesitated. Was that a “W” tattooed on the fire ninja? Was he a Wolf?  
Nya took advantage of Zhang’s hesitation as she slashed his right shoulder. Zhang grunted in pain and dodged as Nya swung right where his head was.

“Huh, that was supposed to be a kill shot,” Zhang noted before he took out his gun and started firing at the siblings.

Zhang saw the van heading his way, with Jay and Zane giving chase, and got ready to evacuate. The Van’s side door opened up and Zhang hoped in before the van took off. Ninja tried to stop the van but Zhang shot at them through the side window, causing the ninja to run and take cover. As the van exited the university, the driver pressed a button that camouflaged the van to make it look like a dog grooming service.  
Kai and Nya looked at the lab. Nearby, they saw Jay and Zane looking at a 5ft tall computer that was strapped to a dolly.

“I think I know what they were after.” Nya stated.

Kane waited at the entrance of the station, arms folded and foot tapping in anger, she had heard the comms and knew of Zhang’s failure. Surrounding her were taskmasters who were waiting to bring the injured down to the makeshift medical center. All taskmasters were taught to fight in armed and unarmed combat, but they each were taught specific trades. Some were taught about medical care, others were taught about engineering, others were taught about agriculture and so on. Kane had to admit, it was a smart system to ensure that his little militia could be self-sufficient if need be, too bad he didn’t use that intelligence for the computer robbery. In the distance, a van appeared heading for the station and the medical taskmasters got ready to help the injured. 

Kane tried to ignore her bullet wound as the van pulled up and the medical taskmasters started helping the injured out of the car. Zhang got out of the car and started carrying one of the injured taskmasters to the medical spot. Kane followed behind Zhang trying to get information.

“What happened?”

Zhang ignored her and continued carrying his injured soldier. Thankfully, the medical tent was nearby.

“Zhang, what the hell happened?”

“We lost,” Zhang snapped as they entered the medical tent, “what do you think happened?”

“What do you mean lost? Aren’t your lackeys supposed to be capable?”

Zhang set the injured taskmaster down next to a tablet and turned around to look up at Kane, “They are! But the ninja and Samurai X are on another level. They were too much for my men to handle, especially when they were caught off guard.”

“So much for elite fighters.” Kane mumbled under her breath

Zhang took a second to collect himself before resting a hand on Kane’s shoulder, “Would you like to fight one of my men? No? Well that’s weird because I could swear that you're berating my men for failing to do something you can’t do on your own. Maybe you could do all of this on your own?”

Kane stared at Zhang, not responding

“Good, then we both can agree that you don’t get to berate my men. We lost because we were caught off guard, the green ninja and samurai were at the school way too quick to not have been there beforehand.”

Kane raised an eyebrow, intrigued, “What? Do you mean they were already there?”

Before Zhang could answer Kane, a medic interrupted him, “Sir i’m sorry for the interruption but that shoulder slash needs to be properly addressed.”

Zhang looked at the medic, “Is everyone being treated?” 

“Yessir, i’m free to stitch the wound up, if you desire so.”

“Ok.” Zhang and Kane followed the medic to an empty chair. Zhang took off his shirt and the medic started examining the wound further.

“The wound needs to be cleaned and stitched, would you use painkillers to dull the pain sir?”

“No, we’re running low on those supplies.”

The medic pulled out his supplies and started working on Zhang’s shoulder.

“To answer your question,” Zhang said to Kane, “Samurai X and the green ninja attacked us within minutes of us raiding the computer lab. Right before they showed up, Briggs called me saying that three of the ninja went to my store. I think that they know we are.”

“They were probably asking about me at the university,” Kane deduced, “Well, now that we’ve lost our element of surprise, we have to go about this differently.”

“We have to separate them,” Zhang claimed, “The ninja are most powerful together. They care about each other and we can use that to our advantage.”

“How?” 

“Divide and conquer. We set-up two diversions and kidnapped some of the ninja. Once, we have our hostages , we make our demands under the promise of returning the ninja. It’s similar to a trick I used a lot when dealing with the gangs of the squalors..” Zhang winced as the medic fished cleaning his wound and started stitching it closed.

“We wouldn’t hurt them right?” Kane asked.

“Not if we can’t help it, but it’s always on the table, they are our enemies after all.”

“Ok, so how do we go on about that?”

“You're not gonna like this but if we attack two public places at one, the ninja will rush to protect the civilians. The green one and the samurai are injured and I noticed that the earth ninja showed up so i’m willing to bet that he’s injured in some way to not help rescue his leader. If things go our way, then the samurai and 2 of 6 of the ninja are incapable of fighting. Having four ninja try to protect two different places will leave them overstretched, perfect for capture. The only question is where do we attack?”

“Well, if there’s one thing I remember from working at NCU,” Kane, started, “It’s that they love their possessions. That computer we tried to steal is one of the most advanced computing systems in Ninjago. They are so full of themselves that there’s no way they’ll let anyone take it, even for safe keeping.”

Zhang responded, “So they’re gonna keep it at the same school? Well that’s just asking so for it to be attacked again. Ok, that’s one place, what’s another?”

The medic finished up the stitches on Zhang’s shoulder, “Alright sir, you’re good to go.”

Zhang stood up and faced the medic, “Thank you. Once Briggs and the rest of the taskmasters get here, have the medical teams switch shifts so you guys can have a break.”

Zhang turned to Kane who had the tablet. She turned on an interview and Zhang heard the voice of Kennedy Kurrent. 

“Oh come on, you’ve been listening to that interview for hours. By now you should know everything the interview says about the–”

“Just listen,” Kane interrupted as she replayed the beginning of the recording. 

“Do you ever tire of seeing the same boring exhibits at that run down museum?” The recording played, “Does your heart long for new discoveries to be put on display? Well your heart doesn’t have to yearn anymore with the introduction of the museum’s new Dimensional exhibit. This project will educate you on the various realms that we hold knowledge of. And to celebrate this bold new direction, the museum will be hosting a gala event exactly one week from now at 7 p.m. Don’t be late!”

“That gala event is 4 days away, it’ll give us plenty of time to plan an attack and for the rest of your men to arrive, and it’ll be a public event so it’ll reach the ninja quickly.”

Zhang looked at Kane with surprise and admiration.

“What?” Kane asked.

“I didn’t know you could be so...strategic.” Zhang replied, “Ok, so one team will attack the museum gala and kidnap some while the other team sounds like a plan.”

“Ok, in four days, we strike.”

Zhang walked away to find some solitude. Once he was alone, Zhang pulled out his phone and called Briggs.

“Hello sir,”

“Briggs, are you alone?”

“Hold on.”

Zhang heard Briggs moving before speaking again.

“Ok, I am now. What do you need sir?”

“I need you to understand that what i’m about to say stays between us two.”

“Understood.”

“I need you to track down any remaining members of the Wolves gang, I have reason to believe that the fire ninja is, or was, a member of the Wolves gang.”

Briggs didn’t speak for a second, “Sir, with all due respect, aren’t the Wolves wiped out?”

“As a group, yes. But there’s probably people with ties who ducked out before we eliminated the gang and are living their lives. I need you to find anyone who has any information on Kai’s relationship to the Wolves.”

“You’ve got it sir.”

“Good, when are the rest of the men showing up?”

“We’re leaving right now. I’ll send them on their way and start my investigation.”

“Good, thank you. Be safe.”

“You too sir.”

Zhang hung up his phone and sighed. The rest of the taskmasters were on their way and Zhang was following a possibly non-existent theory, both were gonna take time. Zhang got up and headed to the exit of the station, he had some vengestone to collect.

2 days later

Zane walked with Pixal into Borg industries. Today was the big day. He had been apprehensive after Pixal’s injuries but she insisted. After the realignment of some wire and running several diagnostics, Pixal was deemed healthy. It turns out that when she received the gun shot, the impact disconnected certain wires, hence the bad vision and hearing problems. It was a simple fix, just reattaching and realigning wires in Pixal’s head and she was good to go.  
They entered the elevator and pressed the button for Borg’s office. 

Zane was wearing a white tuxedo with a black pocket square and an ice blue tie. Pixal was wearing a silver one strap dress. They had just come back from a picnic and were heading to a particular spot. Zane felt like his nerves were on fire. He recognized that there were only two possible outcomes to his proposal; either Pixal accepts or rejects his offer. Zane did not find any comfort in those odds.  
Zane thought of how the ring he had made for this occasion. The band was constructed using components of both his and Pixal’s energy sources, their hearts one might say. The band was painted with Zane’s ice white color and the diamond was the color of Pixal’s.. 

“Remember when we first met?” Pixal asked

“Everyday,” Zane replied, “I thought it might be nifty to revisit the site.”

Pixal leaned her of Zane’s shoulder, “I think it is a great idea.”

They exited out the elevator and strolled to the office of Cyrus Brog. Zane had bribed Borg to stay out of the building for tonight with the promise of letting him explore Zane’s power source. Zane led Pixal towards the patio of the office and tried to not break down into a nervous wreck. He pulled Pixal close to him and she embraced him. Zane and Pixal looked out into Ninjago city while Zane silently built up the courage to start talking. 

“Pixal?”

PIxal turned to Zane and gave him her full attention.

“I have something to tell you.” Zane felt his stomach drop, did his voice crack? Can a nindroid even do a voice crack?

“Yes?”

Zane took a deep breath, he could do this. He and Nya had worked extensively to perfect his little speech. 

“Pixal, ever since I saw you, My life has been better by an infinitude. Every time I see you, my heart beats faster than the speed of light. To me, you are perfect and you are my everything–” Zane got down on his knee and Pixal cupped her mouth in elation, “–and I would honored and humbled if you would be my wife. Pixal, will you marry me?” 

Pixal smiled and nodded, “Yes.”

Zane’s smile swelled, “Yes?”

“Yes!”

Zane and Pixal embraced each other. Zane was beaming uncontrollably, he was elated. Pixal and him, together forever.

The next day

Nya headed towards Kai’s room. She’d rather distract herself by protecting the computer that Kane and Zhang wanted but NCU rejected both their offers to take the computer for safekeeping or to set up guard roots, so here she was.  
Nya took a deep breath and knocked on Kai’s door. After a second, the door opened and Kai let her in. Nya looked at Kai’s room and noted it’s cleanliness. She saw the time on the clock, 5:24 p.m. he sat on his bed as Nya sat in his desk chair and turned to face him.

“You cleaned your room.”

“I figured you’d come talk to me about our alley conversation.” Kai replied.

“I’ve been thinking about what you told me but I still have some questions.”

“Ask away.”

“How many clients did you have?”

“One-timers? I don’t know. Regulars, only 17.”

“Only.”

Kai shook his head, “I said ‘only’ because 17 is rookie numbers compared to the other sellers.”

“Did you force anyone to take the drugs?”

“No.”

“Not even the kids?” Nya interrogated.

“Everyone who bought from me did so of their own free will. I know it doesn’t change anything but I never forced anyone.”

“Did you ever try to get out?”

“I thought about it every night, but I was reminded of why I did it every time I went clothes or grocery shopping.”

“And you don’t regret it.”

“Sometimes I do. If I could go back knowing that our lives turned up the way, I don’t know. I did what I did, i’m not proud of it.”

“Did you ever find out what happened to your…’clients’?”

“ 3 addicted, 2 dead.”

“Were any of them kids?”

“One’s addicted, she should be about 29 right now. Two are dead, they would be about 27 and 31 now.”

“How long ago did you start selling? 

“About 14 to 15 years ago, give or take.”

“But–” Nya did the math in her head, “–you would’ve only been 10 at the time.”

“The Wolves didn’t care, as long as I turned a profit and followed orders, I was good to go.”

“Does anyone else know?”

“Skylor does. I told her when we were dating.”

“What does she think?”

“I mean, Skylor helped her evil dad almost takeover Ninjago and steal all of our powers so I think she understands that we sometimes do bad things for the people we love, even if we fucking hate ourselves for it.”

“Do Mom and Dad know?”

“No, and please don’t tell them. I don’t want them knowing that their kid failed so badly that he was selling drugs at 10.”

Nya ponders for a moment before speaking, “Kai, you know I love you. Nothing would ever change that. And I understood why you did what you did, but that doesn’t make it ok and–”

“You want me to turn myself in to the police, don’t you?” Kai guess.

“I don’t want to, but you committed a crime Kai. We’re ninja, we have to enforce the law, even if it means locking us up.”

Kai looked down and said nothing.

Nya got up from Kai’s chair and headed for the door, “Kai, i’m not gonna turn you in, but you aren’t above the law. You have to take responsibility for your actions.”

Nya received no response from Kai.

“I don’t know, just think about it ok?” Nya said before she exited the room.

As soon as the door shut, Kai let out a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Nya wanted him in jail? Didn’t she understand that he...he did sell the drugs. No amount of justification will ever change that.

“Fuck!” Kai shouted to himself while hitting the bedpost.

What was he supposed to do, walk to the station and possibly lose the rest of his life because he made mistakes while trying to keep his sister safe? The worst part is that Nya is right, Kai knew he needed to face some form of justice, but what? All Kai knew at the moment was that he wanted to be anywhere else but here, in this room.  
Kai decided to distract himself by checking on Lloyd. Kai briskly walked out of his room, slamming the door on his way out, and made his way to the medical room. Kai entered and saw Cole with his head wrapped laying down on a cot, doing nothing. Lloyd was laying on another cot and had his shoulder and hand wrapped. Jay was sitting on a chair by Cole, fast asleep.

“Hey Cole, hey short stuff.”

“Hey.” Cole, and Lloyd both replied.

Kai gestured to Jay, “What’s he doing here?”

Cole sighed, “Being my stalker.”

“What?”

“Jay felt guilty about giving Cole a concussion,” Lloyd explained, “So he’s watching over Cole and helping him with, really anything Cole needs.”

“Even though,” Cole added, “Misako already said that I’m good enough to be on my own. I know Jay means well but I need to be alone sometimes.” 

Cole went back to laying down, staring at nothing. 

“Damn Cole, you look so bored.” Kai noted.

“Yeah, well i’m not supposed to do anything that will make my brain work so, i’m not supposed to do anything period. I can’t even listen to my music.”

“That sucks.”

“I know.” Cole pinched his nose, “So what brings you here?”

“I wanted to talk to Lloyd.” Lloyd perked up at that, “Yeah sure. What did you want to talk about.”

“Cole, is there any way you could give us some space?”

“No love for the man with the concussion? I see, well I have to use the bathroom anyways.”

Cole slowly tried to get up without waking his best friend, it didn’t work. Cole sat up and Jay immediately opened his eyes.

“Hey Cole, do you need help with anything?”

“No Jay. I just needed to use the restroom.” Cole got out of bed.

“Ok cool! Here let me get the wheelchair.” Jay pulled out a wheelchair and pushed Cole into the chair, the lightning ninja was surprisingly strong when he wanted to be.

“Jay, it’s ok I can walk–”

“But then how could I help you? Hi Kai!”

Kai waved at Jay as he rolled Cole out of the room. Cole looked at Kia and mouthed, “Help me,” before he and Jay left the room.

Kai sat in a chair and examined Lloyd’s wounds, “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got shot.”

“Yeah well, you’ll be better in no time.”

“So what did you want to talk about?”

Kai took a deep breath, “Years ago I did some pretty bad things, and now I feel like those things are coming back to haunt me.”

Lloyd remained silent and let Kai finish

“I thought I was doing the right thing and now, i’m not so sure. I’ve been told that I need to take responsibility, that i’m irresponsible. I hate that people look at me and see an irresponsible kid. Now i’m wondering if they’re right.”

“Kai, what are you talking about?”

“I’ve spent most of my life being, or trying to be responsible. It feels like I’m always being forced to be accountable for others. Whether it’s taking care of Nya, or being the fire ninja, or dating Skylor, or…” Kai stopped talking as he realized what he said.

“Skylor?”

“That’s all you got from what I said?”

“No, but I noticed that you reacted when you mentioned Skylor. So what, these are all things you feel you’ve had to take responsibility for? Did you want to?”

“It’s not that I didn’t want to, I just wanted a break, And I finally got it. Nya’s grown up, i’m not in a relationship, yeah i’m still a ninja but i’ve got you guys to help me. And now the one time I can relax, my past comes back to bite me in the ass.”

“Well I know that you just said you didn’t want the responsibility, but if you did something bad, then you have to.”

“I know.” 

Just then, Wu walked in the room and addressed Kai and Lloyd

“Greetings, I hate to interrupt but Zane and Pixal are requesting our presence at the lounge room. Er, Lloyd, would you prefer to stay here?”

“I’ll go, i’ve been dying to get out of here,” Lloyd carefully got out of bed and then he, Kai, and Wu walked to the lounge room.

As they walked, Kai thought of Nya. What concerned him was that swing that Nya took at Zhang, that was a kill shot. And while the ninja occasionally did have to defend themselves, they never outright killed others, not if they could help it. But Kai had figured that he was the last person she’d want moral guidance from right now. Maybe he’d ask Pixal to talk to her. For now, he kept his thoughts secrets and headed to meet Pixal and Zane.

Cole washed his hands and exited out of the bathroom. He thought about how Wu stopped them on the way to the bathroom and told him and Jay that Zane and Pixal wanted to talk to them in the lounge room. Cole exited out of the bathroom and found Jay waiting for him, Jay patted the seat of the wheelchair, inviting Cole to sit.

“I’m not gonna sit, Jay. I need to be on my feet for awhile.”

“Nonsense! You need all the rest you can–”

“No, you need to understand that it was an accident. You didn’t hurt me on purpose and you don’t have to make up for it. You’ve been very helpful and I more than appreciate you for that. But you don’t need to do any of this.” Cole gestured to the wheelchair.

Jay grinned. It wasn’t a huge and forced beaming smile, just a simple genuine grin.

“I’m really sorry.”

“I know, and it’s ok. Now let’s get rid of this stupid chair and see what the robo couple wants.” 

Jay and Cole put the chair away and made their way to the lounge room. They entered the room, sat on the couch and found Zane and Pixal waiting, Pixal had her hands behind her back. As the other ninja, Misako, and Wu entered the room, Cole couldn’t help but wonder what Pixal was hiding behind her. Was it a pregnancy test, wait of course not, Pixal can’t get pregnant. But that made Cole wonder, did Pixal and Zane have sex? Were they capable of sex, did they have the uh...parts? Did they even have those urges? They went out to dinner last night and didn’t come back until about 4:00 this morning so...  
Zane interrupted Cole’s thought process with a cough to get everyone’s attention, the room silenced and all focus was on Zane and Pixal. 

“Evening everyone, Pixal and I would like to make an announcement.” Zane and Pixal looked at each other before nodding

Cole noticed that Nya was smiling while gripping her engagement ring and PIxal hiding her hand, oh no. Cole put two and two together as Pixal lifted up her hand and showed off the engagement ring. Cole felt the air rush out of his lungs.

Nya and Miasko screamed and ran to hug Pixal, then Zane, then Pixal again. Wu simply nodded at both of them. Kai hugged Pixal and then hugged Zane while giving him a noogie. Jay fist bumped Pixal and Zane. Lloyd hugged both Zane and Pixal. And Cole...sat there on the couch.  
Cole was in shock, not a bad type of, but a good. Yes, he was so shook that he was in a fixed position, with a fixed smile on his face. Cole was happy for Zane and pixal, and yet he felt as if he had a pit in his stomach. His palms were sweaty and he felt lightheaded. Maybe he was feeling this way because he was overjoyed. Yes, that must have been the reason why he felt so nauseated, he was overjoyed! That must have also been why Cole felt the urge to throw himself out of the bounty, he was just too happy...yeah.

“Cole are you ok?” Zane asked.

“Of course I am! I’m just...so emotional over this. I always get emotional over proposals.”

“Ok, I am relieved to see that you reciprocate the same excitement as everyone else. I feared that you might not be approving of our engagement.”

“Are you kidding? I could literally cry right now...tears of joy that is. I could cry tears of joy.”

Cole forced himself to get off the couch and pulled both Pixal and Zane into a group hug, soon joined in by everyone else. Cole felt like he was suffocating, and it wasn’t just from the group hug either.

The next day

Cole laid on his bed, unable to sleep. He checked the time, 10:29. Usually he wouldn’t be so tired, but he got no sleep last night, he was too distressed. Cole was happy for Pixal and Zane, yet he felt sad at the same time. Cole honestly didn’t know how he was feeling, he just wanted to be alone in his sorrow.

Someone knocked on Cole’s door and the earth ninja sighed. 

“Come in!” Cole said, hoping that his visiter was anyone but Zane.

Cole’s hopes were quickly dashed as his robotic friend entered the room. Zane sat on his desk chair and turned to face Cole

“Morning Cole, how are you feeling today?”

“Pretty good, I think my head is feeling better.”

“Good, good.”

“So what brings you here?”

“I wanted to ask if you would be my best man.” 

Cole sat up confused. He already agreed to be Jay’s best man and now Zane was asking him as well, when did he become so popular?

“Why me? I mean, I'd love to but you didn’t want any of the other ninjas?”

“Admittedly it was a difficult choice to pick however I have always felt that we have had our special connection.”

Cole’s heart threatened to explode as Zane continued.

“You were the first one to help me regain my memories on Chen’s island, You were there for me when I voiced my concerns about my father after we defeated the overlord, I feel that we both bonded a tremendous amount over not being fully human when you were a ghost, and we both spent a lot of time trying to infiltrate the Sons of Garmadon. I fully recognize that we aren’t exactly the closets but I do feel that we have a very unique bond. So yes I would love to have you as my best man.”

Cole was surprised. He hadn't realized that he was so important to Zane. He resolved to be there for his friend.

“I’d be honored to be your best man, Zane.”

Zane smiled and went to hug Cole, who awkwardly reciprocated.

“Well,” Zane started, “That is certainly a weight off my chest. Do you know if you’ll be good to go out to dinner tonight?”

Cole remembered how Zane and Pixal announced that they were going to treat everyone to dinner tonight to celebrate the engagement. Cole was thinking about going to the gala event for the new museum exhibit but he would never pass up an opportunity for free food. 

“I need to check with Misako, but i’m pretty sure i'll be good to go.” Cole responded.

“Ok, well then I will let you get back to it.” Zane said before leaving the room. 

Cole groaned and tried to go back to sleep.

Later on in the day at about 6:30ish, Skylor got picked up on the bounty. Pixal had invited her and Nya to have a girls celebration before going to dinner tonight. She walked onto the deck and saw Zane in the kitchen. Skylor called out to him and gave him a hug.

“Congratulations Zane. I’m so happy for you!”

“Much appreciated Skylor. Pixal and Nya are in the lounge room, no one will bother you there.”

“Thanks.” Skylor responded before heading to the lounge room.

When she entered, Nya hugged Skylor before making way for Pixal. 

“I’m so glad you could make it,” Pixal said while hugging Skylor, “Nya and I were just about to have a knife throwing competition, would you care to join?”

“I don’t know,” Skylor started while faking a yawn, “I might get bored beating you two so easily.”

“In your dreams,” Nya answered. 

The three women went outside to the deck of the bounty and set up the targets for practice. Pixal was first and landed all three of her knives into the head of a practice dummy.

“I believe you two forget, that this is my strong suit.” Pixal challenged.

“We’ll see.” Skylor said.

The three women took a stance at their own practice dummies with Nya on the left, Pixal in the middle, and Skylor. They each started throwing knives at their targets. 

“By the way Nya,” Pixal started, “thank you for help Zane write his little speech.”

“How did you know?” Nya asked.

“I recognized your writing patterns and vocabulary when Zane proposed.”

“Oh, well, you’re welcome.”

Skylor threw a knife before having a realization.

“You what I just realized?” Skylor suddenly stated, “I’ve never copied your powers Nya.”

“Yeah, cause i’m the best waterbender there is.” Nya joked.

Skylor laughed at that and landed a knife at her dummy’s neck.

“You know what I have never been able to comprehend?” Pixal asked, “How do your powers work? Do you keep the elements forever or do you slowly lose the ability to use them?”

“All it takes is one touch and I have a copy of your powers forever.” Skylor answered, “Though my copy of the element will never be as strong as the original elemental master.”

“So you still have kai’s powers?” Nya asked.

Skylor put down her knife and held her hand out. A ball of fire ignited in her palm and while it was hot, Nya did notice that it wasn’t nearly as hot as Kai’s flames. Skylor extinguished her flames and picked up her knife. Pixal, Nya, and Skylor continued throwing knives and eventually Nya threw a knife and completely missed her target. 

“Dammit!”

“A little competitive are we?” Skylor laughed.

“And even more aggressive.”

Nya put down the knife, “What do you mean by that?”

“It's just that you have gotten more aggressive when it comes to combating our enemies.” Pixal clarified while throwing a knife.

Skylor landed a knife into the chest of a dummy, “Isn’t that what Kennedy said?”

Nya launched her knife, “Don’t tell me you actually agree with him Pixal.”

“I think that that was one of the few subjects Mr. Kennedy got right.”

Nya hesitated at that statement before grabbing another knife, “Well it’s like I said, I want to let the criminals know that crime doesn’t pay.”

“Well It’s not my place to say,” Skylor started, “but Nya’s got a point.”

“However,” Pixal contested, “There is a difference between being tough on crime and actively trying to kill criminals, and I worry if you recognize that difference.”

“Pixal it’s not like i’m actively trying to kill anyone

“What about when you fought Zhang, you swung your right at his head, that was a kill shot.”

“And?”

“Nya you know that we don’t intentionally kill others.”

“It’s not about killing, it’s about stopping the bad guys before they can hurt others.”

Pixal and Skylor stopped throwing their knives and focused on Nya.

“So many of our enemies have hurt us and this city.” Nya threw a knife hard enough to go through the dummy. “Nadakhan got me killed and traumatised Jay, Krux and Acronix kidnapped my parents, Morrow got Lloyd’s father killed, Asphera sentenced Zane to the Neverrrealm, and Garmadon destroyed Ninjago, killing countless people. I can’t help but wonder how many people could’ve been saved if we just ended our villains as soon as we met them.”

“Even me?” Skylor asked.

“You’re different.” Nya contested.

“How? I helped my dad steal your powers willingly, I guess you should’ve killed me because I was a villain.”

“That’s not what I…” Nya stopped herself, it was exactly what she meant. “I just wish we could stop bad people before they hurt others, or that we could control these situations more.”

The three women stop and stare at each other for a few moments before continuing their competition.

“I understand what you mean about wanting more control.” Skylor started, “I was thinking about it the other day, I don’t really have anything for myself. My noodle shop is just my father’s business, my powers came from my mother, I haven’t really created anything for myself and, if i’m being honest, it makes me feel kinda vulnerable. I guess that in my desire for control, you could say that I might be too controlling.”

“Isn’t that what Kai said about you before you broke up?” Nya asked.

Pixal threw her second to last knife. While Skylor missed her target altogether.

“Yeah, he said I was too controlling, I said he’s too irresponsible.”

“Maybe you two should converse and see you can rekindle your relationship.” Pixal suggested.

“Maybe, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that I tried so hard to control something I had no business fully controlling that I helped break it. I tried to take our relationship into my hands and I wound up destroying it. That's what will happen to you Nya. If you try to control this idea of judgment and other people’s lives, you risk breaking yourself and the justice system as a whole. If you take up the roles of judge, jury, and executioner, then anyone else can do the exact same thing. And before you know it, the bodies will start piling.”

Nya didn’t respond but was clearly weighing what Skylor said.

Pixal threw her last knife and got another headshot, “We'll, seeing as I am the only one who hit my target every time, it would appear that I am victorious.”

Skylor and Nya clapped and joked around with Pixal when an alarm went off. The three women stopped laughing and ran into the main room of the ship. The other ninja and Wu and Misako entered the room as Pixal located the signal of the alarm on the Ninjago map. It showed two sites were under attack; NCU and The museum. Camera feeds from both sides showed taskmasters storming the buildings 

“They’re attacking the gala event!” Pixal declared.

“Yeah, and NCU, they’re probably going after the computer.” Cole added

“Clearly, this diversion meant to separate us.” Zane noted.

“Yeah but we still have to help,” Lloyd argued, “They have hostages at the museum, we don’t have a choice.”

“Ok, so what? We split up? Isn’t that exactly what they want?” Kai pointed out.

Lloyd shook his head, “It doesn’t matter, there are people who need our help. Skylor, will you help us?”

“Of course.”

“Ok, thank you. Skylor, Nya, Kai, and Jay go to the Gala and make the citizens get out ok. Zane, Pixal, Cole, and I will go to the university to secure the computer. Cole how are you feeling?”

“I’m ready to kick some mercenary butt!”

“Ok,” Lloyd confirmed, “Wu and mom, can you stay here to make sure that no other places are attacked?”

Both the sensi and Misako nodded their heads in agreement.

“Ok everyone, you know your roles. Let’s move out!”

Lloyd and his allies ran out of the and jumped off the bounty. The ninja formed their dragons while Pixal flew her Samurai suit and Skylor hitched a ride on Kai’s dragon. Cole, Pixal, Zane, and Lloyd went to the right while Skylor, Kai, Jay, and Nya veered left.  
Skylor jumped off of Kai’s dragon as they landed in the parking lot of the gala event. The taskmasters, shockingly, saw the enormous dragons and started firing. The four ninja took cover behind cars as about 15 taskmasters approached them. Skylor looked to see a lead taskmaster giving orders. Some of the taskmasters started trying to flank them.  
Nya covered the pavement to her left full of water and motioned to Jay. He saw what Nya was trying to do and nodded his head in agreement, they both sat and waited. About 3 taskmasters came by and were about to spot Nya. they stepped in the water and Jay shot a bolt of lightning at the water, shocking all three taskmasters. They dropped like flies  
Kai was shooting fire towards the taskmasters when he saw the cars they were taking cover behind. Kai started shooting fire near the gas containers.

“Move!” A taskmaster said, “He’s trying to blow us up!”

Most of the taskmasters got out of the blast radius as a car exploded. Two taskmasters, however, weren’t so lucky as they were sent flying by the explosions. The rest of the taskmasters regrouped and reengaged in their attack.  
Skylor looked to the museum and then back at Jay.

“I’m going to go help the hostages.”

“How?” Jay asked, “They’ll see you from a mile away.”

Skylor focused and turned invisible, “Don’t worry, Kai isn’t the only elemental I've come into contact with.”  
Jay nodded and then went back to help Nya and Kai battle against the taskmasters.

Skylor slowly made her way to the museum, she knew that any rapid movement would give her away. As she neared the museum building, Skylor found a small person sized hole blown into the building and climbed through it.  
The hostages were all gathered into the center of the biggest room on the first floor. Skylor counted five taskmasters in the building. Skylor slowly walked behind one of the taskmasters and grabbed a can on the floor. Skylor tossed it down the hall and watched as the taskmaster took notice. Skylor watched as the taskmaster called another taskmaster to help her locate the sound. Once the two taskmasters were out of sight, Skylor attacked.  
Skylor blasted both of them with fireballs. One taskmaster fell backwards onto the floor while the other remained standing. Skylor kicked in the left knee of the standing taskmaster and slammed her head against the wall four times. Skylor then watched as the other taskmaster stood back up but before she could attack, the man yelled out to the other taskmasters.

“There’s someone in here! They’re invisible!”

The taskmaster then pulled out a combat knife and swung wildly until Skylor caught his wrist and twisted it and pushed the knife into the taskmaster’s shoulder. Then she blasted the man against the wall with fire. As the taskmaster fell, Skylor kicked him in the jaw and the taskmaster went still. She grabbed the combat knife and heard a taskmaster give orders. 

“You heard him,” One of the taskmasters said, “our enemy is invisible. Switch to thermal vision and cover the windows and doors to lower the amount of heat in the building!”

Skylor thought about how if they had thermal vision, then they must also have night vision. She snuck around looking for the light switches as the three remaining taskmasters covered up the buildings and windows. She found them, Skylor waited for the taskmasters to finish covering up the windows and doors before switching to thermal vision. She then turned off the lights. Now skylor had to make herself invisible to the thermal vision. 

“Turning off the light won’t help you!” A taskmaster warned as they ignited their thermal vision. 

First Skylor ran to the vending machine, broke it, and took three water bottles. She then left the area before the taskmasters could investigate the vending machine. Skylor ran to the floral exhibit and looked for mud or dirt. She found a patch of growing plants, soil and everything. Skylor poured the water into the soil, creating mud, and dived in. Skylor covered herself with as much mud as she possibly could and left. As Skylor left the floral exhibit, a taskmaster blocked her path. Skylor froze and held her breath, the taskmaster did a quick scan of the room before leaving. Skylor snuck up to the taskmaster and stabbed him in the shoulder before getting a headlock and knocking him unconscious, she gently set the man down on the floor.  
Skylor let out a breath before sneaking toward the light switch. Once she reached the switch, Skylor flipped the lights on quickly and heard the surprised screams of the two taskmasters who had gone blind. 

“Everyone get out of here!” Skylor yelled at the hostages while blasting a door open with a fireball.

The hostages listened to Skylor and ran out the door to the cops who were waiting outside. Skylor turned to the taskmasters and started charging at them when a car flew through the wall. Skylor dodged out of the way as ten more taskmasters entered the building, followed by the water, fire, and lightning ninja. The ninja launched into battle with Skylor joining them.  
Skylor evaded a taskmaster’s left hook and kicked him in the ankle and knee. Skylor pushed the taskmaster to the ground and grabbed his left arm. She turned the taskmaster onto his back, applied pressure, and promptly broke the arm Skylor looked to see a taskmaster calling on a cellphone but was attacked by another taskmaster.  
Nya swung with her trident at her opponent, the taskmaster blocked with his sword before swinging at Nya’s legs. Nya timed it just right and stepped right on the sword, knocking it out of the taskmaster’s hands. Nya slammed the back of her trident against the taskmaster’s temple and then kicked him back with her left leg. As the taskmaster was knocked back, Nya threw her trident straight into the man’s right hip. The taskmaster went down screaming as Nya walked over, stepped on the man’s chest, and not so cleanly ripped the trident out of his hip before confronting her next opponent.  
Kai threw two fireballs at the taskmaster who dodged each and then fired at Kai with her pistol. Kai ducked behind a shelf before coming out and blasting the gun out of her hand. Kai then ran up and pushed the taskmaster to get her off balance. Then he grabbed the taskmaster by the head and headbutted her until the mask had cracked open. Finally, Kai ripped off the mask and punched the taskmaster in the jaw, dropping her in one go.  
Jay climbed the stairs to meet his opponent. Jay kicked the taskmaster in the chest, causing him to double over. Jay then rolled over the back of the taskmaster and kneed him in the head. The taskmaster fell down a couple of steps before getting back up and charging at Jay. Jay flipped over the taskmaster and then drop kicked him off of the stairs, back onto the first floor. Jay took a moment to slide down the railing of the stairs on his way back to the first floor.

The ninja regrouped and turned to face the remaining taskmasters, but one of them spoke up

“Ok, here’s the situation. We have reinforcements coming to pick us up. You could try and stop us from escaping or you go try to save your other ninja group from the trap at NCU”

“Fuck,” Kai mumbled.

The four ninja stared at each other and nodded in agreement. 

“We will beat you.” Jay told the taskmaster.

“Go save your friends ninja, you only hasten your defeat.”

With that, Kai, Nya, Skylor, and Jay ran out of the building and conjured up their dragons to fly to the NCU.

The three ninjas rode their dragons into NCU while Pixal flew her samurai suit. The taskmasters took notice of the incoming ninja and started firing their rifles. This wasn’t much of a problem until one taskmaster took out and fired a homing missile launcher. Pixal was hit directly by three different missiles and her suit shut off.  
Pixal jumped out of the suit and activated her jetpack. However, the jetpack was almost immediately shot to pieces and broke apart, leaving Pixal free falling.  
Zane, without thinking, dived off of his dragon, which dissipated, and headed towards Pixal. He caught her but saw that there wasn’t enough time. Zane knew that making ice wouldn’t break their fall so he positioned himself to take the brunt on the impact.  
The ice ninja and samurai slammed into the ground hard. Pixal was relatively fine but Zane had one of his eyes cracked.  
Cole and Lloyd landed nearby and rushed to check on Zane. Just then, about ten taskmasters ran out to attack. Zane got up to fight but fell to his knees as he felt someone inside his head. Zane was being hacked.  
Lloyd blasted two taskmasters away and then noticed that Zhang was loading the computer into one of the vans while Pixal and Cole continued to fight the taskmasters  
“Cole, Pixal, I’m gonna go get the computer.” Lloyd took off before either Cole or Pixal could object.

Lloyd sprinted to the van and blasted Zhang away. Lloyd tried to take the computer off of the van but set off a trap. A gas blew into the air and left Loyd gasping for air on the floor.  
Zane felt his systems being forced to shut down, one by one. Zane looked over to see Lloyd on the ground while Zhang approached him. Finally, Zane saw more vans pull up with even more taskmasters coming to aid them. Soon Cole and Pixal were surrounded by about 17 taskmasters with a disabled Zane.

“Cole, Lloyd and I are done. Get Pixal out of here, Please!” With that Zane finally succumbed to the hacking and shutdown.

Cole saw that there were too many taskmasters.

“I’m sorry Zane and Lloyd,” Cole whispered before grabbing Pixal and performing airjitzu and conjuring his dragon to get the both of them out of the situation.

Lloyd laid on the ground and tried to get fresh air.

Zhang approached a taskmaster, “Make sure we get the computer and the two ninja into the vans”

“Yes sir!”

What did Zhang mean ‘two ninja’, Lloyd wondered who else was at his mercy. That question would be answered at the moment as Zhang approached him with a gasmask on.

“Nice to see you again, Lloyd. How nice of you to just sit there and let us take you and the ice ninja.”

Lloyd struggled to move at the realization that Zane was also held captive.Lloyd tried to move again but found it much harder to do so this time.

“I wouldn’t struggle if I were you,” Zhang suggested, “This chemical compound is specially made to deal with headstrong captives such as yourself. The more you struggle, the less you’ll be able to do so.”

Lloyd tried to fire a blast and fail miserably. Zhang looked completely unimpressed.

“Well Lloyd if you ever wanted to see where I live, then you’re in luck–” Zhang pulled out his katana, “–because that’s where you’ll be staying for a while.” Zhang then slammed the handle of his katana against Lloyd’s temple.  
Lloyd fell over and was delirious. He rolled over to see Zhang standing over him. Zhang launched his boot at Lloyd’s face and Lloyd blacked out on impact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of Nya's thought process? Do you think she is right to wonder about killing off their villains or do you agree more with Skylor?  
> How were the fight scenes, were you able to get the picture?
> 
> Question: What do you think about the pacing of the story? What way could it be improved?


	7. The Fateless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get a deeper understanding of Kane and Zhang as we find out their conflicting opinions as well as plans for a ninja.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm tired. I just wanted to say that this chapter is focused on our antagonist. Enjoy.

Then

Kane entered the front door to her house and yawned. She really had to start taking shorter days at work. Kane shut and locked the door behind her and glanced at the t.v., which was covering some story about indestructible stone men attacking the city. Kane didn’t pay attention as Ninjago had already gone through some crazy events, forcing its citizens to become insensitive to cope with daily life. Kane followed the smell of chicken into her kitchen. At the sink was her husband, David, who was washing dishes. Near him was a wrapped plate, probably her dinner.

“Oh you’re alive,” Dave sarcastically joked, “I was starting to wonder if i’d have to cal the ninja.”

“Haha.” Kane retorted as she kissed David. “How was work?”

David turned off the sink and faced his wife.“The seventh graders are still assholes, but at least they enjoy my astronomy jokes. What about you? How’s your scientific breakthrough coming?”

“The Inverted Dark Matter is holding together better, but it’s still unstable.”

“Inverted Dark Matter…” David started, “Did you ever think that Ninjago would be able to create Inverted Dark Matter, much less that you’d be able to do it?”

Kane’s cheeks started burning, she was never a fan of compliments, but David was right. Dark matter was still relatively unknown in the scientific community. It’s purpose and creation were both mysteries that needed to be solved. And for Kane to be able to create an inverted property of it, it’d be like trying to build a plane without any idea of its purpose and with no instruction manual.   
But David understood the challenges of this project, he was very knowledgeable in astronomy as well as astrophysics. Kane hated how people looked down on her husband. They saw Elizabeth Kane, astrophysics doctor, with her husband, the seventh grade astronomy teacher, and naturally assumed that either she settled for less or he got lucky with someone out of his league. The truth was that David was very smart in his own right. When it came to intellect, David was a jack of all trades while Kane was a master of few. In fact, David and Kane both met in college as undergraduate seniors. They both wound up in the Astronomy honors class and quickly became rivals. Soon, however, that competitive rivalry turned romantic.   
David was just as clever as Kane was, which is why it surprised her so much when he decided to be a middle school teacher. At first she was disappointed that he was wasting his potential until he explained that he wanted to educate the future generations, to teach them to be better. He said that when it came down to it, education was the most valuable thing in the world. He had said that it was so much more important to educate the future generations than it was to get a bigger paycheck. It was then that Kane knew she had fallen in love. 

“Marie missed you today.” David quietly announced.

Kane sighed, “Is she still awake?”

“Yeah but she wants to see her mom more often.”

Kane leaned against the counter, “Dave, you know that the IDM isn’t stable and that the longer it remains unstable, the bigger the chance for it to become volatile.”

“I know that, Liz, but she doesn’t”

“Well what am I supposed to say, ‘Sorry i’m not around, I don’t want to accidentally create a potentially lethal poison or bomb’?”

“Well, yeah.”

Kane groaned and stood up off the counter to unwrap her dinner, “It’s not that simple, i’m not good with kids like you are.”

David hugged Kane from behind and replied, “You know...I really am good with kids.”

Kane playfully pushed David away.

“What? I’m kidding. Look, just explain to her the situation, any explanation is better than no explanation.”

Kane looked down before responding, “Ok, wish me luck.”

“You got this, tiger.”

Kane left the kitchen as David went back to do the dishes. She walked down the hallway and slowly pushed open Marie’s bedroom door. 

“Marie?”

Kane noticed a small figure in her bed, she was trying to pretend to be asleep. 

“That’s weird,” Kane loudly stated, “Marie’s asleep but she’s not snoring like she usually does.”

And just like that, Marie started snoring loudly. Kane stepped into the room and sat down on the bed while stroking her daughter’s short brown hair. 

“Marie, I know you’re awake.” 

Marie opened her eyes and turned over to face Kane.

Kane smiled at Marie, “How was school?”

“It was good.”

“...First grade treating you well?”

“Yeah.”

Kane took note of the short answer responses and decided to just jump straight to the point.

“I’m sorry sweetie. I know I haven’t been home as much lately.”

“It’s ok, I know your job is more important than us.”

Well, that was one way to kill Kane on the inside. 

“No sweetie, it's not that at all.” Kane tried her best to be nurturing. “It’s just...do you remember how I gave you a picture of that white glowley stuff?”

Marie slowly nodded her head up and down.

“Well that stuff is very dangerous, i’m trying to figure out how to make it not dangerous so it doesn’t hurt people.”

Marie tilted her head as she thought about what Kane said, “So...you’re like the green ninja?”

Kane arched her eyebrow, “What?” 

“The green ninja is always away from his family because he’s beating up the bad guys so they don’t rob banks and stuff.”

“...Yeah,” Kane hesitantly replied as Marie grew excited, “except I don’t have powers.”

Marie seemed disappointed that her mom wasn’t a superhero, “So you’re always away because you don’t want people to get hurt?”

Kane breathes a sigh of relief as Marie seems to understand what she was saying, “Yes. But the longer it takes the greater the chance that it hurts people.”

Marie continued turning the gears in her head, “So you spend more time with your job because it’s dangerous?” 

“Yes, but of course you’re important to me,” Kane pulled Marie into a hug, “you are the most important thing in my life.”

“Even more than dad?”

“Yes, but don’t tell him.” Kane jokingly whispered.

Marie laughed at Kane’s joke and proclaimed, “I love you mom.” 

Even though Marie was very obviously thinking about what her mom just said, Kane decided to just enjoy the moment.

“I love you too sweetie.”

A few days later, Kane and her protege, Tim, were working on stabilizing the Inverted Dark Matter. The IDM worked in a vacuum, but the problem was that the introduction of matter would cause the IDM to do a rapid combustive action. The running theory, after several failed ones, was that the IDM simply needed to get used to other forms of matter, and thus here they were.  
Tim released a small amount of matter into the vacuum and at first the IDM seemed to take hold. They waited for what seemed like minutes before a reaction occurred. They were so close, but as usual, the stabilization process failed. The readings were inconsistent and the IDM started fizzling, Kane turned on the vacuum before it exploded. Kane checked the timer, 3 minutes and 47 seconds, a whole 2 minutes and 3 seconds more than last time. 

“Shit.” Tim muttered under his breath

“Don’t worry Tim, we’re getting closer to stabilizing it, the stabilization period lasted three times longer than our last test. At this rate, i’d say we’ll have it done by this week.”

“I know, i know...it’s just frustrating, you know? We are so close to making scientific history, but in order to do that, we have to stabilize this IDM while making sure it doesn’t accidentally blow up half of Ninjago.

“I know this is stressful, but progress is progress, no matter how slow it is.” 

Kane sometimes forgot that Tim was just an undergraduate senior. That wasn’t to say that he wasn’t any less capable, it was just that Tim didn’t fully understand that sometimes science takes a long time to find success.

“You know what,” Kane started, “screw this, let’s take a quick break. We’ll re-energize and then try again, sounds like a plan?” 

Tim looked up at her, “I’ll clean up the IDM.”

Just then, Kane’s phone rang. She pulled it out and saw Marie’s school calling her. She answered the phone and waited to hear what was happening.

“Is this Elizabeth Kane?” A gruff voice asked, Kane recognized it as Marie’s principal, Mr. Allen.

“Yes, how may I help you.”

“Your daughter, Marie, just got caught physically assaulting some kids. We need you to come in so we can discuss this little altercation.”

Kane was taken aback a little, since when did Marie get into fights? She shouldn’t even know how to fight. Kane sighed, she didn’t want to leave, not when they were so close to stabilizing the IDM. No, she had to put in more effort with Marie.

“Ok, I'll be there at 15.”

“Looking forward to it.” Mr. Allen replied before hanging up.

Kane cursed before walking to the break room to talk to Tim.

“Tim, i’m sorry but Marie’s school called and asked me to go over.”

“Is everything ok with Marie?” Tim asked.

“No, she got into a fight.”

Tim turned around, clearly surprised. “Marie?”

“Yeah,” Kane started as she gathered her things, “i’ve got to go.”

“Ok, i’ll keep running tests.”

“No, Tim. It’s too dangerous.”

“But–”

“No. if something happens, no one will be here to help you. Go home, relax yourself and we’ll start first thing in the morning.”

Tim clearly looked disappointed but he also clearly needed the rest, “Ok, good luck with Marie.”

“Thanks.” Kane said before leaving the lab. 

Kane left the university and climbed into her car. She turned the radio station to the news and started driving to Marie’s school. As she made her commute, Kane’s mind started to wander. Why did they want Kane there? Usually the school would call David, especially since he’s an employee of the school district. Did Marie say something about her? Kane pulled up to the school as a news report came on stating that he ninja were sailing to a mysterious dark island. Kane parked and made her way to the principal's office.  
Kane signed in to the front desk and entered the office. Mr. Allen saw Marie sitting down in a chair, to her right was an empty chair. To Marie’s right was a boy, Jon, with a black eye and, oh god it was Chelsy Smith. Smith was the woman who flirted with David when he took Marie to the father daughter dance, despite the fact that she was married. The two women knew about each other through their kids, Smith asked Jon to gather info on the Kane family while Marie just naturally gossiped with David, who gossiped with Kane. Mrs. Smith glanced at Kane and not so subtly sighed at her.

“Mrs. Kane, please take a seat.” Mr. Allen gestured at the empty chair.

Kane did as she was told and took a seat.

“Alright, Marie already confessed to bullying and started the fight with Jon. Mrs. Smith and I both agreed that Marie would benefit from taking a few days off from school as punishment.”

“Yeah, maybe you could actually focus on being a good parent.” Smith snarky stated, “Maybe if you were there for your daughter, she wouldn’t have hurt my baby like some...like some savage.”

Kane lost her cool and went on the offensive, “Chelsy, you’re right, I do need to be there for Marie more. By the way, how’s your divorce going? I know it can be a little challenging, especially with nowhere to go or stay. What is it, your 5th week living at motel 6?”

Mrs. Smith scoffed but before she could reply, Mr. Allen spoke up

“If this is how you both settle arguments, it’s no wonder that this fight happened. Mrs. Smith, you and Jon are free to go.”

Chelsy quickly grabbed Jon and left in a hurry. As soon as the door closed Mr. Allen directed his attention towards Kane and Marie.

“Well now that they’re out of here. I think we should discuss the conversation that Marie and I had before Jon and his mom came in.”

Kane shifted in her seat and waited for the principle to continue.

“Marie and I talked about the sudden cause for this aggressive behavior, Marie would you care to tell your mom why you attacked and bullied Jon?”

Marie hesitated before speaking up, “I thought that if I was dangerous that my mom would spend more time with me like she does her job.”

It took all of Kane’s will and self restraint to not facepalm herself. She wanted to cry, criticize her daughter, and die all at the same time. 

“Hmm. This is all just a big misunderstanding.” Kane responded.

“I figured,” Mr. Allen responded, “but that doesn’t change the fact that Marie started a fight. I’m going to suspend Marie for three days and I suggest that she writes an apology letter to Jon.”

“Fair enough,” Kane said as she and Mr. Allen stood up and shook hands.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Allen.” Marie offered.

“I know you are,” Mr. Allen responded, “which why when you come back i’ll expect not to see anymore offenses from you.”

“You won’t, I promise!” Marie stated before she and Mr. Allen high fived.

“We’ll be going now. Have a good day.” Kane stated.

“You as well.” Mr. Allen said as he started working on his computer.

Marie and Kane walked the car and started heading home. As they drive, Kane decides to address the elephant in the room.

“Marie, when I said my job was dangerous, I didn’t mean go fight other kids.”

“But you stay at your job.”

“I know but that doesn’t mean you have to hurt others to get my attention.”

“I just want you home more.” Marie crossed her arms.

“I know, i’m sorry. I'll try my best. But you still need to apologize to Jon.”

“Ok.” Marie responded.

She and Kane remained silent on their way home.

Now

Zhang yawned and focused on driving the van to the abandoned subway. In the back were three taskmasters, the computer they stole, and the Ice and Green ninja. The rest of the taskmasters, from the NCU raid, were in the other van ahead of him. Zhang had confirmed that the taskmasters who attacked the gala event were on their way and would make it to the subway about fifteen minutes after Zhang would. He was going to have to wait for them to unload the injured.  
Zane wondered if he and his men were in over their heads. After only two encounters with the ninja, about a quarter of the taskmasters were injured in some way. If Zhang was being honest, he only agreed to kidnap some of the ninja because he was starting to feel a little desperate. His men were starting to drop and he didn’t have an endless supply of them. It didn’t help that Kane seemed to refuse to engage in more extreme methods to combat the ninja. But it was too late to turn back, they were all on the ninja’s radar now.  
This could go one of two ways; either the ninja comply and let Kane finish her work or they’ll storm the subway station and probably take out himself and Kane. Luckily, Zhang had prepared a contingency plan to prevent the latter from happening.  
Zhang reminded himself of why he was doing this, a combination of Kane’s payment and hope for a better future for the squalors. If Kane destroyed fate, then the people would be free to do whatever they wanted, including building a better life. By staying with Kane, Zhang knew he was giving the people of the squalors a chance.  
Zhang pulled up to the subway station and a few taskmasters started to unload his cargo. As an engineer taskmaster picked up Zane, Zhang called out to him. 

“Hey, make sure the robot gets a diagnostic test. I want to know everything about our nindroid friend here.”

“Yes sir.” The taskmaster confirmed before taking the ice ninja to the engineering station.

“Do you still want the green one in the cell?” Another taskmaster asked Zhang.

“Is the vengestone ready?”

‘“Yes sir.”

“Good, then yes put him in the cell. And make sure to keep him sedated.”

“Of course sir.”

The taskmaster picked up the green ninja and carried him into the cell room inside the station. Three more taskmasters came and very carefully pulled the computer from the back and unloaded it onto a dolly. Zhang instructed them to carefully give it to Kane.  
Soon the van from the gala attack pulled up and Zhang helped pull some of his men to the medical room. One of the medics pulled Zhang aside to talk.

“Sir, i’m sorry to bother you sir but we are dangerously close to running out of supplies. I’m not trying to make any demands but we need to get more.”

“Ok, I’ll send someone out to get supplies.”

The medic sighed in relief, “Thank you sir.”

Zhang left and radioed one of the taskmasters to go get supplies. Once the treasures confirmed that Zhang did in fact authorize the purchase of medical supplies, a squad of taskmasters went to go collect the supplies.   
Zhang entered the engineering room and saw a team examining the body of the ice ninja. Zhang pulled the lead engineer aside to discuss any possible features that could be taken advantage of.

“So what’s the test showing.” Zhang asked.

“The biggest thing we found–” the engineer taskmaster handed Zhang a copy of Zane’s scans, “were these receptors and connectors. We believe that these can be used to connect to the internet.”

“So this is how the ice ninja was reborn after the overlord’s defeat.”

“Yes.”

“Cut it all out, there’s no point in having a hostage if he can just connect to a different body somewhere else via the internet.”.

“Anything else?” the engineer asked.

“Do we have enough materials to make a bomb?”

“Yes sir, we have plenty.”

“I want you to make one explosive enough to get rid of our metal guest. I want you to put it in his chest in a way that can’t be easily taken out. And make sure that it’s remote controllable.”

“Yes sir.” With that, the engineer left to go work on his newly assigned task.

Zhang stepped outside the room and dialed up Briggs.

Briggs made her way through the squalors when she received a call from Zhang. She answered her phone.

“Yes?”

“Briggs, how’s your investigation going?”

“I’m about to meet with a contact, sir. After that, we’ll see if this gives us more info orif it’s just a wild goose chase.”

“Ok, update me when you have something.”

“I will, sir. Have a good one.”

“You too.” Zhang said before he hung up.

Briggs parked her van in a parking lot, got out, and started making her way to an informant, a druggie named Lucas. He would be at a drug house, She knew the location of it and would be there shortly. Briggs was wearing civilian clothes to not give herself away as a taskmaster. She had her pistol strapped to her left hip and a combat knife strapped to her right thigh. Both were covered by a large winter coat. In addition, she had a gas mask, smoke grenade, and two frag grenades in her backpack, just in case. Briggs watched as two kids ran past her, chasing each other with sticks. Soon she found the drug house.  
Briggs entered the drug house and took in the scenery. About 7 people laid down on the floor in various positions. Dust hung in the damp air and all of the windows were closed. It smelled like death, someone probably did die now that Briggs thought about it. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, drug addicts made well for snitches because they’ll do anything if it means getting their next hit. An addict grabbed at Briggs’ boot and she shook him off of her. She scanned the room and found her snitch staring out of the window. 

“Lucas.” Briggs called out.

Lucas turned around and walked to Briggs, “What do you want?”

“I need info on any surviving members of the Wolves gang.”

“What’s in it for me?”

Briggs pulled out a wad of cash and tossed it to Lucas.

Lucas examined the money and then looked at Kane, “This must be worth a lot to you.”

Briggs snatched the money out of Lucas’ hands, “Yes it is, now tell me what you know.” 

“There’s an abandoned apartment filled with remnants of the Wolves gang if you need info, they’re your best bet.”

“Where is it?” Briggs asked.

Lucas went into the other room. Briggs followed and found him drawing on a piece of paper. When he was finished, Lucas gave the paper to Briggs, who looked it over. It was a map. Briggs nodded her head in approval and gave Lucas the wad of cash. 

“You know, if you wanted, you could join the Taskmasters. We’d help you detox and you could make something for yourself.”

“You worry about your life, I'll worry about mine,” Lucas replied as Briggs left the drug house. 

Briggs started walking to the remnants’ hideout and thought of the first time she met Zhang. Briggs had been a new prostitute on the street. On her first night a guy and a girl jumped her and forced Briggs into an alleyway. Before they could do anything, however, Zhang jumped on them and ended both of their lives. Then he offered Briggs a way out, a chance to find her value, and a chance to be part of something bigger than herself.   
The training was brutal and Briggs almost didn’t make it, but it was all worth it. When the taskmasters rolled in and started fixing the squalors after taking out the gangs, Briggs felt a sense of accomplishment and pride at the idea of fixing her home.   
And when it came to Zhang, Briggs felt that she owed her life to him, literally. Who knows what would have happened to her. In some ways, Briggs looked up to Zhang like a father figure. He took her in when he didn't have to and helped her become a functioning member of society. Not to mention he paid for her to go to therapy, as he does for all of his taskmasters if they need to.  
Briggs reached the abandoned apartment and tried to listen through the door to see how many remnants were in there. She couldn’t figure out a specific number of people but she guessed it had to be more than five. What were Wolf remnants doing in an apartment together? Could they be planning something big? Briggs decided that it was better to be safe than sorry and resolved to kill all of them. She quietly took a frag grenade out of her backpack and took off her winter coat for better access to her weapons.   
Briggs kicked the door open to the shaking of about 10 people, shot one of them between the eyes, and threw in the grenade. She then ducked out of the apartment and braced herself against the outer wall while pulling out her gun with her right hand and her knife in her left.

“What the hell is that?!” a voice yelled out.

“Grenade!” Another voice yelled out.

A woman tried to run out of the apartment and was promptly shot in the back of the head by Briggs. The grenade went off and Briggs felt the shock wave through the wall. She entered the apartment and saw three people dead. Two guys tried to pull out their guns but Briggs shot both of them in the head. A girl who was on the floor scrambled to get up but was shot in the knee. The two remaining wolves pulled out their knives.   
One swung at Briggs who dodged, kicked the man back, and shot him in the foot. The other tackled Briggs against the wall and went to stab her. Briggs gabbed the hand of the guy and stabbed him in the throat and then shot him point blank in the right temple.  
Briggs turned to see that only the woman with the shot knee and the man with the shot foot were alive. 

“Who are you?” The woman screamed.

“Ok, here’s the deal!” Briggs started, “I need info about a drug dealer who worked for the wolves. But I only need one of you to tell me what I need to know. First one to start talking gets to live.”

The man and the woman both looked at each other as a challenge.

“I was a cook for the Wolves but I know a Wolf drug dealer who knows all of those people.” The man exclaimed, much to the woman’s horror.

Briggs pointed her gun at the man, “I need a name.”

“Paco! His name is Paco. He works at the local shop.”

Briggs pointed her pistol at the woman, “No, please!” the woman pleaded before Briggs shot her in the throat.

Briggs thanked the man before shooting him in the head. Briggs left the building and set off to find Paco. Luckily, the store wasn’t too far. She reloaded her weapons on the way, which ensured that no one would mess with her. Briggs also pulled another $100 to prepare a possible bribe.  
Briggs reached the store and entered to find a man at the checkout and few customers roaming the aisles. She walked up to the man and put on her brightest smile.

“Hey there, handsome.”

“Hey how can I help you?” The man asked.

“I was wondering if you can help me find a man named Paco.”

“I’m Paco, what did you need.”

Briggs set down the money on the counter, “I need help trying to see about a potential drug dealer.”

“I’m sorry I wouldn’t –”

“Look, I know that you were a part of the wolves.” Briggs whispered, “I’m looking for a possible member of the Wolves. I’ll pay for your information but we probably should talk in the back so your bosses don’t hear about your former drug life.”

Paco frowned at Briggs, realizing that he didn’t really have much of a choice, “I’ll go on my break and meet you outside in the back alley.”

“Good choice.” Briggs said before walking out the door. 

She went into the back alley and waited for Paco to come out. Paco walked out and eyed the money that Briggs held out. 

“First things first,” Briggs started, “Do you know of the fire ninja?”

“Kai? Yeah I know him, we used to be partners.” Paco said nonchalantly.

“What?”

“Partners in the wolves, not like gay together.”

Briggs let out a sigh of relief, “So you're confirming that Kai, the fire ninja, was indeed a drug dealer for the Wolves gang?”

“Yeah.”

“Could you give accounts on Kia’s actions as a drug dealer?”

“Yeah, sure. Can I have the money now?” 

“Sure,” Briggs dropped the money onto the ground, “sorry.”

Paco knelt down to pick up the money and at that moment, Briggs pistol whipped him in the back of the head, sending Paco to the ground unconscious. Briggs pulled out her phone and called Zhang.

“You found something?” Zhang asked.

“Yes sir, I found an apartment full of ten Wolf remnants. They didn’t seem to be planning anything but who knows.”   
“I take it they’re not living anymore?”

“All ten are dead,” Briggs confirmed, “but one of them told me of a man named Paco. Once I found him, Paco confirmed that the fire ninja was a part of the wolves gang.”

“Good, bring him in.”

“Already on it sir. I’ll see you soon.” 

“You too.” with that Zhang ended the call.

Briggs put her phone away before she started to drag Paco to her van.

Kane watched anxiously as the taskmaster engineers worked on her time machine. While she had wanted to do it on her own, Zhang had made the admittedly smart observation that they didn’t have enough time for her to do all the work. With their friends missing, the ninja would be raising hell to find them. Still, Kane wasn’t a fan of watching others do her projects. The chronosteel platform was finished and now the engineers were setting up the IDM emitters. The Computer was halfway attached but couldn’t be fully implemented until the emitters were up. and running. Then there was the outlet, which would be used to power up the time machine, or “Fate Killer”, as Kane liked to call it. Kane was working on creating more Inverted Dark Matter when she overheard some of the engineers talking about the captured ninja.

“You hear about the robot?”

“Nah, what about him?”

“Well apparently the boss wanted to mess him up a little, he told the other engineers to get in his head and put a bomb in him.”

Kane whipped around to question the engineers, “What did you say?”

The engineers looked at each and then one spoke up, “Zhang put a bomb in the ice ninja ma’am.”

Kane was livid, “Where is he?!”

“I think he’s patrolling the entrance of the station.”

Kane got up and rushed out of the engineering room. She couldn’t believe Zhang had gone behind her back like this. Kane wanted to talk to the ninja, to offer an alliance. That would be way harder if they knew that Zhang had cracked one of their own open and shoved bombs inside him. That man had no sense of diplomacy. Kane approached Zhang who turned to see his employer storming furiously towards him.

“What the hell is wrong you?! Cutting open Zane and putting a bomb in him, are you trying to piss the ninja off?”

Zhang looked surprised for a second before hardening his face, “Watch yourself Kane.”

“No! You watch yourself. When they find out what you’re doing to the ice ninja, the rest of the ninja are going to come burn this place to the ground.””

Zhang arched an eyebrow in frustration, “You know that they’re our enemy, right? And more importantly, they’re a family, which means that they won’t do anything that’ll risk one of their own getting hurt.”

“Or we could strengthen their resolve to finish us.”

“Not when we have hostages,”Zhang replied.

“Yes, but why have the ninja gunning for us when we could have them be allied with us? Each of the ninja has something that they regret, and when they understand that they were forced through some of those hardships maybe they’ll agree with us.”

“If you really think that the ninja are going to want to work with us then you clearly don’t know any of them as well as you claim to.”

“Well what I do know is that we had a chance with them before you decided to mess with the ice ninja.”

“Kane, you have to get it through your thick skull that the ninja aren’t going to care about your cause. They are gonna strike to deal the most damage to us. They won’t give us mercy, so we must do the same to them.”

“We don’t need to forgo mercy. Once I explain to them why I want to destroy fate–”

“Once you explain your motivations–” Zhang interrupted, “They’re going to use it against you. Whether you like or not Kane, you have to accept the fact that in order to win you’re going to have to get your fingers dirty and do things you might not personally agree with.”

“I’m not going to sacrifice my morals to accomplish my goal.”

Zhang shook his head at Kane, “Then we’re destined to fail.”

“Not if we can prove that everything we’ve done has been for the right cause.”

“And what if they don’t decide that your cause is worthy of helping with?”

Kane remained silent.

“Kane, if dealing with the ninja is too difficult for you, then focus on building your little trinkets and leave the hard parts to me.”

Kane crossed her arms and stared daggers into Zhang’s eyes, “It’s not that it’s too difficult, but what we’re doing here will free everyone from Fate’s grasp. But there’s no point in this mission if we lose ourselves in the process.”

“And that’s your problem.” Zhang softly responded.

“What?”

“You don’t realize that we are fighting a war. There are no morals, no codes, nothing but what you and your enemy are willing to do to survive. And especially in a situation like this? Kane, you are trying to destroy fate, are part of the universe itself. In order to do this, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes to win.’  
“Not when it costs you a part of yourself. Not when you can recruit allies.”

“Diplomacy doesn’t always work, Kane.”

Kane scoffed, “Well of course you would say that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you are known for your massacres and tactics of total war.”

Zhang went quite so Kane continued, “What did you think I didn’t fully research you? I know everything about your war with the Wolves, even your dirty little secret. I know that when you wiped out the Wolves, you didn’t just get rid of the gang. You also killed off the addicts, the clients, the blackmailed people. You wiped out anyone who had any ties to the Wolves, no matter how innocent they might be, so I'm sorry if i’m not exactly inclined to believe your denial of morals when you basically executed anyone who waved at the Wolves gang and established your own little kingdom in the squalors.”

Zhang glared at Kane, “Is that what you think of me? You think that I use my unforgiving methods solely for my own gain? You know nothing about me. I show my enemies no mercy because this is a war that we’re fighting. I’ve seen what happens to people who fight war without the will to win, to people who think that they can win solely through diplomacy. It’s not that i’m some selfish tyranny, Kane, it’s that you don’t understand that they’re are some situations in which diplomacy isn’t an option. Maybe if you got off your high horse, you could see that.”

“So what, are you going to explain to me why it’s ok to slaughter everyone in your way?” Kane challenged.

Zhang shook his head, “You remind me of my father, same naive, same stupidity.”

Kane huffed at Zhang, “Are you going to tell me a sob story?”

“I’m telling this story so you can understand why i’m adverse to diplomatic methods.” Zhang retorted. “My father was a janitor for some brothel that doesn’t exist anymore. And for whatever reason, he developed a hero complex and started opening his mouth. He spoke of a better future and against the ruling gangs. It placed a target on his back.   
Luckily for him, dad was no slouch and thwarted off many attacks with his skill. He started training me to fight but also advocated for actions through words instead of through action, in other words, my dad tried to fight the gangs with words. And believe it or not, it actually worked for a time. I remember asking him why he refused to fight in the traditional sense. He said that there was no point in fighting for a better future if we ‘lost ourselves’ in the process.   
Anyways, Dad was encouraging change, drug deals weren’t happening, and dad was gaining a reputation as the man who’d fix the squalor. He didn’t.”

Kane shifted her stance and let Zhang continue.

“One day, dad and I are walking through the squalors and he gets shot in the head. I watched the life leave his eyes before he could even hit the ground. I ran, I ran home and comforted my sister and mom as they lost their hope for a better life. He died, like an idiot, because he thought he could fight a war without weapons. His death became an example to all those who didn’t know their place.”

Kane began to express sympathy on her face, “What happened afterwards?”

“For a while I tried to follow in his footsteps while suppressing my own desire for vengeance. At the end of the day, I realized that words don’t do much against bullets.  
One day I finally lost control and went on a suicide mission to kill off the gangs. I failed and had to fake my death in order to protect my family. Do you know why I failed? It was because I tried to fight as their equal and not with the conviction to do what was necessary.   
Anyways, after I left I spent about 15 years learning and studying under many, many masters. I learned to fight, use a lot of weapons, and lead a militia. But most importantly, I learned how to fight and win a war.   
I started building up an army big enough to wipe the floor with the gangs. When I marched back into the squalors with the taskmasters and slaughtered anyone with ties to any of the gangs, anyone who might seek revenge as I once did. The only one who survived were the ones smart enough to not fight or to leave the gangs.   
Once the smoke cleared and organized crime was exterminated. I started rebuilding the squalors, got them to where they are now, even if it still needs work.  
But the reason why I so easily drove the gangs and the Wolves to extinction is because I understand that in order to win a war, you can’t be better than your enemy. You have to do whatever it takes, even if it means becoming worse than your enemy or sacrificing your morals. I won my war through personal sacrifice and violence and a lack of morals, and in the end, I created a better and more hopeful future than my dad ever did. That is why I do things the way I do them.”

Kane took a deep breath, “I’m sorry about your dad.”

“Don’t worry about it. But since I opened up, let me ask you a question. Why are you really trying to destroy fate? I mean, I believe you when you say that you want to free Ninjago but I also know that that’s not the only reason.”

Kane debated in her head before sitting down on the floor, “Well I guess it’s only fair that you know my motivations. Sit down, I’ll explain what happened.”

Then

“It’s holding!” Tim exclaimed as Kane monitored the readings.

The Inverted Dark Matter was reacting well to the matter being siphoned into the vacuum. Kane watched as the stabilization charts remained secure.

“Tim, release open up the vacuum,” Kane reluctantly said.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, do it.”

Tim slowly opened the vacuumed and waited for the reaction to happen, except it never did. Kane eagerly read the scanners and saw the words, “Stabilized”.

“It worked.” Kane whispered softly to herself.

“It worked.” Tim repeated with more elation.

Kane and Tim looked at each other and simultaneously yelled, “It worked!” as they hugged each other.

“I’ll grab the sparkling Cider to celebrate!” Kane exclaimed as she ran into the kitchen.

Kane felt beyond happy, her life’s work was completed. Inverted Dark Matter was now a reality. Kane watched as Tim put the IDM into and filled a gallon sized glass container and then opened a large window. She couldn’t be more proud of him. Kane would make sure that Tim would receive as much credit as she did. After all, she couldn’t have done it without Tim’s help. Kane had found the cider when she got a call from David. She eagerly picked up the phone, ready to share her news.

“David! We did it, we finally stabilized the–”

“Liz, are you still at the labs?!”

“Yes, why?”

“Get outside right now! Marie and I are on our way to get you.”

“David, I don’t–”

“Just do it! And if you see any stone people, get away from them!”

With that, David hung up his phone. Kane didn’t know what was going on but she felt nervous, David never freaked out like this unless something bad was happening. Kane rushed out of the kitchen to the lab and found Tim on his phone.

“Tim we have to go.” Kane stated as she gathered her things, including her purse.

“Kane, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know but David said that something bad was happening. We need to go.”

“What are you–” The lights cut out before Tim could finish. He and Kane both turned on their phone flashlights.

“Come on. We need to go!” Kane started to drag Tim to the exit.

Tim reluctantly joined and opened the door. Kane rushed to the door before looking back to the jug of IDM, that jug would slow her down but it was her life’s work, she couldn’t leave it. Kane grabbed the jug and joined Tim in the dark hallway.   
They made their way to the exit when Tim saw a figure rush towards them. He pushed Kane out of the way as the figure swung a samurai sword at the two scientists. Kane fell towards the doorway but managed to protect the jug. Tim fell backwards towards the lab as the figure focused on him.

“Tim!” Kane yelled.

“Run!” Tim yelled before running back to the lab, followed by the figure.

Kane got up and saw something move in her left peripheral vision, it was another one of those figures. And he was approaching her. Kane looked at Tim just in time to see him jump out of the window. Kane got up, grabbed her jug, and ran towards the exit.  
Kane ran out the building and saw a darkened sky and people being chased by...were those stone soldiers? Blotches of a dark mist were shooting from the sky and landing on random spots on the ground.   
Kane saw a man stumbling towards her. He literally had all of the color drained from him and his eyes were glowing with purple energy. He reached out for Kane but she hit him with her purse, sending the man crashing to the ground. Kane saw her purse had trace amounts of the dark mist on it and threw it away. Something told Kane that she didn’t want to get into any contact with the mist. The man started to get up, only to be hit by a car. The passenger door opened, revealing Kane’s husband with Marie in the back.

“Get in!”David screamed.

Kane heard a noise and saw the two stone soldiers come out of the lab. Kane climbed into the passenger seat and the car took off.

“Are you ok? Did you get touched by any of the mist?” David demanded to know.

“I’m fine, but what the hell is going on?”

“I don’t know,” David admitted, “I picked up Marie from school and the sky turned dark and giant balls of dark mist started falling everywhere. Some mist fell on a guy and he just turned into some dark...thing. It was life he wasn’t even himself. The guy attacked a woman and turned her to whatever he was to. Marie and I started driving to come pick you up. We blocked out the vents in the car so we couldn’t get infected. We also saw a lot of the stone army killing anyone they could find.”

Kane took a second to collect herself and then she turned to the back to check on Marie.

“How are you doing sweetie?”

“I’m scared mom.”

Kane held Marie’s hand to calm her down, “Don’t worry, everything will be ok.”

Kane turned to David while holding Marie’s hand, “Where are we going?”

“We are getting as far from the city as possible. We’ll hold out until this whole thing goes away.”

Kane watched as they pulled onto a dirty road, they were reaching the outskirts of Ninjago City. She tucked the jug of IDM under the glovebox and stayed silent as they drove on.  
Kane saw a figure with a sword in the middle of the road but before she could warn David, a cloud of dark mist dropped right in front of them. Luckily, none of it got through the blocked vents but it did block the windshield. David drove straight through the dark cloud and came out just to see the figure, a stone soldier step to the side of the passing car. Time slowed down and Kane watched in horror as the stone soldier sliced the front right tire clean off the car. The car jerked to the right. David tried desperately to regain control only to have the car fly off the road and crash into a tree. The car slammed against the tree and caused the windshield to shatter into pieces and flip upside down. Kane blacked out  
Kane regained consciousness and checked herself out. She had gashes and cuts along her arms and legs from the shattered glass. Kane looked at her husband. David’s dead eyes stared back at her. David had a large piece of window glass shoved into his throat so deep that he had almost been decapitated. Kane cried out and looked to the back to check on Marie, who was starting to stir. From the back window of the car, Kane saw the stone soldier approaching the wrecked car.  
Kane unbuckled herself and fell onto the roof of the upside down vehicle. Kane’s shift in her leg position caused the jar of the Inverted Dark Matter to fall and break, causing the IDM to spill all over her. The IDM seeped into Kane’s body through the cuts and made its way into her body systems. Kane felt herself slowly lose control and eventually was completely paralyzed. It was as if her body fell asleep, but instead of being asleep, her body was in a coma.  
While Kane couldn’t do anything, she could hear what was going on, and she heard heavy footsteps approaching the car. Marie finally woke up and started screaming at the sight of her father and calling for her mom. The soldier took notice of the sound and despite Kane’s attempts, she couldn’t tell Marie to quit. Marie’s cries dream of the stone man on Marie's side of the car. He ripped the door off and grabbed Kane’s daughter.

“Mom! Help me!” Marie screamed, not knowing that Kane would do nothing in the situation.

Kane heard Marie screaming for her over and over again as the sound of a sword being drawn was heard. Marie screamed one last time before she went quiet, accompanied by the sound of a sword strike and a body dropping to the ground. Kane felt tears streamed down her face as the soldier ripped Kane’s door off. The stone soldier reached out to grab Kane before he suddenly stopped. He completely ignored her and walked back towards the city.   
A few minutes later, Kane saw the sky shine brightly before going back to its regular blue self. Sunlight poured into the lonesome car wreck.  
Kane was left paralyzed with her dead husband and child. She spent hours trying to get any movement, to no avail. She sat there as the day turned to night. Kane passed out from pure exhaustion and woke up 24 hour later, the night after what would come to be known as the Overlord’s first defeat.   
Kane slowly regained her body back and started to crawl out of her car towards Marie’s body. Her daughter was stabbed in the neck and very lifeless. Kane hugged Marie’s body and started crying. If she hadn’t been at work, they wouldn’t have had to pick her up and maybe things could have been different. Kane sobbed until he heard sounds coming from the city. Was that celebration? Kane looked out to the city and heard the sounds of parties and dancing and music. Kane then looked up to the city skyline and saw a floating ship, the ninja. Why were they celebrating instead of helping her family?  
Kane had no place for anger at the moment, only sorrow and regret. She clung to Marie’s body and sobbed into the night.

“Well that sucks” Zhang replied.

“Tell me about it.” Kane said while holding in her tears.

“So do you really want to free Ninjago? Or are you just hoping to rewrite your family’s history.”

“I want to save my family and free Ninjago at the same time.”

“Then I need you to listen to me,” Zhang started, “If you want to get your family back, you have to be willing to do what’s necessary, and sometimes that includes putting bombs inside our enemies.”

Kane reconsidered before speaking, “I want to have the remote so that it’s only used when necessary.”

“Would you be able to use it if needed?”

“Yes.”

“Ok deal.”

Just then, Zhang’s radio went off and he answered it. He and the voice on the other side conversed for a few minutes before hanging up.

“They just told me that Zane’s internet is cut and his bomb is placed inside him.”

“Yeah well, that’s your forte. I’m going to go work on the Fate Killer.” Kane said as she walked away.

Zhang walked back to the engineering center. He had to learn about the bomb and get ready for the two ninja when they woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you guys think? What do you think of Kane and Zhang's differing methods of dealing with conflict. Do you think that Zhang was right to handle the squalors the way he did, even with that fact that the whole area is improving?  
> What do you think of Zhang and Kane as characters and as antagonists?
> 
> I'll see you guys next week.


	8. Chekhov's bomb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lloyd and Zane adjust to their new situation, the ninja meet with Kane to debate ideologies, and Zhang makes a move against one of the ninja.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, how's it going. Sorry i'm a little late, I tried to finish the chapter last night but school got in the way. This chapters and next chapter will be slightly shorter but chapter 10 will be a big one, or at least I hope it will. Either way, enjoy!

Zane woke-up with a start. He began running diagnostics on himself and found a foreign object in his chest. He felt violated. His chest compartment had been forcibly open and closed. He felt wires in his head not in their proper places. Zane felt around his head and found signs of welding marks, they...they cut into his head. What did they do to him? They just went around messing with his insides while he was out cold.  
Zane tried to move his arms but found them both chained to a wall, he moved his legs to find that they were also chained. Zane tried to connect to any internet, he couldn’t find anything. Despite this his right eye was still cracked.  
Zane examined the small and dark room, there were no windows and only one door. One of the walls had a giant mirror, almost certainly a one way mirror, on it. Zane was chained at the right corner and there was a small lamp hanging in the center of the room. In the left corner was, Lloyd? Zane rattled his chains towards the Green ninja and slowly Lloyd started to stir.

“Well, well, well. Look who’s awake.” A voice called out from the dark corner of the room

A light flipped on revealing Zhang with his katana and a bucket filled with water. 

“The green one’s enjoying his beauty sleep huh? Well I need both of you awake so…” At that, Zhang dosed Lloyd with the water, before setting the bucket about a foot away from Lloyd.

Lloyd woke up, cold and shivering, he scanned the room and took note of Zhang and his katana. More importantly, Lloyd took note of Zane and his battered condition.

“Zane are you ok?”

“No he’s not,” Zhang answered, “or at least he won’t be if you piss me off.”

“What did you do to me?” Zane demanded.

Zhang walked over towards Zane with his katana, ignoring Lloyd’s protests. 

“You like this sword?” Zhang asked Zane, “It’s custom built, and in all the years i’ve used it to slaughter my enemies, i’ve never found a material that couldn’t be cut by it. I'd even go as far as to say it could cut through solid stone. Now, let’s see how you fancy against it, metal ninja.”

Zane slowly plunged his katana into Zane’s shoulder, causing the ice ninja to scream out in pain. Zane let out a yell as Zhang pulled the katana out of his shoulder.

“Get away from him!” Lloyd shouted as he tried his absolute hardest to shoot energy beams at Zhang.

“Your elemental powers don’t work here, Lloyd. Those chains that you’re...uh, chained to are made of vengestone.”

“I don’t need my powers to get out of here.” Lloyd challenged.

“Hmm, see the thing about ‘getting out of here’, is that you won’t. See,–” Zhang pulled Zane up, “–your friend here has a bomb in his chest, potent enough to reduce him to dust.”

Zane’s eyes grew wide and full of concern.

“If you hurt him–” Lloyd started.

“If I hurt him, it’ll be due to your inability to cooperate. And just in case you’re wondering, Zane, we got into your head and cut off your connection to the internet. So if you think that you’re going to just build yourself another body and escape to an island filled with a bunch of wannabe serpentine, you won’t. That bomb goes off and you die, just as any other human would.”

Zane stared at Zhang and felt the fear set in him.

“Let me explain how it works.” Zhang explained as he tightened his grip on Zane. “The bomb is connected to your power source, your ‘heart’. It is powered by your ‘heart’. If it stops receiving power, a timer will go off and set off the bomb. If it's tampered with, it goes off. It’s remote controlled so there’s nothing stopping me from setting off the bomb at any time. But don’t worry, we put in a 20 second countdown so you have time to make peace with your life and death before it goes off. To make a long story, don’t do anything stupid and we’ll be fine. Do you understand?”

Lloyd looked at Zane with concern. He knew Zhang was being serious and despite what Kennedy might have accused him of, there was no way he would put Zane’s life in danger. Lloyd stared at Zhang and after a brief moment, nodded his head in agreement.

“Good.” Zhang responded

“The other ninja will find us.” Zane pointed out.

“No they won’t,” Zhang replied, “we took the three trackers out of each of your suits and disabled them. Your team won’t be finding any time soon.”

Lloyd cursed to himself, each of the ninja had about three tackers attached to various parts of their attire. It was to make sure that any of the ninja could be found should anything happen to them. Now that those trackers were destroyed and with Zane injured, along with the absence of their powers, Lloyd started to realize how vulnerable they really were.

Zhang dropped Zane to the ground before speaking, “Well i’d love to stay and chat but duty calls. Try to behave so your friend here doesn’t blow up, it’d almost be a shame to have to destroy something so mechanically advanced...almost. By the way, use the bucket if you need to use the restroom.”

Zhang walked out the room and was about to shut the door when Lloyd spoke up.

“Wait.”

Zhang froze and looked backed at him.

“You know that right? You’re not going to win this. You’ll lose, just like all of our other enemies.”

Zhang stared back at the green ninja and smirked, “If they do show up, they’ll just be sentencing him–” Zhang nodded his head to Zane, “–to death.”

With that, Zhang slammed the door, leaving the two ninja in darkness. 

Zhang started walking outside the cell and made his way to Kane, she should know of his plans for the fire ninja. As he walked into the engineering room, Zhang made note of the Fate Killer, the computer was now fully integrated into the machine. The Chronosteel was set in place and now all that was left were some loose wires and the Inverted Dark matter. But they needed Dark matter to make the IDM. Kane saw Zhang approaching her and stood up to greet him.

“What is it Zhang?”

“I’m going to get rid of the fire ninja without killing him.”

Kane raised an eyebrow at Zhang, “How so?”

“It turns out that Kai used to be a drug dealer. We found his partner and Briggs is bringing him in now. Once we get the info, we’ll go to the cops and make sure the fire ninja gets locked up.”

Kane looked surprised at this news and responded, “Well, it’s better than threatening to blow up someone.”

“Speaking of blowing up someone, do you still have the remote control for the bomb?”

Kane reached into her pocket and pulled out a small device, “Here it is.”

“Good, as long as the ninja don’t make any trouble, there’s no need to use it.”

“I still don’t like it,” Kane started, “but at least we’re not just blindly killing them.”

“Yeah.”

“I was thinking about going to talk to the ninja.”

Zhang looked at Kane, clearly annoyed. But before he could say anything, Kane started talking.

“I’m just going to try to appeal to them. I’ll let them know about the bomb and if they don’t want to help, then at least I can say that I tried. But I need a way to call them first”

“Some of my Taskmasters could find the ninja’s flying ship and force a video call request. After that it’s up to them to answer you.”

“Ok, then that’s what i’m going to do.” Kane resolved.

Zhang didn’t see the point to Kane’s insistence on trying to recruit the ninja but he did notice that she was trying to compromise with him. And if Kane could compromise, then so could Zhang.

“Ok, but I’m sending a squad of taskmasters with you. And let me know if, on the very slight chance, the ninja do join us so I don’t get Kai in trouble If they chose to help us, which they won’t.

Kane grinned, “Sounds like a plan.”

Zhang smirked back, “Well i’ve got to go help Briggs unload our guest.”

“Guest? What for?”

“To get dirt on the fire ninja”

“I would ask how you’re going to do that but I don’t think I want to know the answer so i’ll just leave it to you.”

Zhang looked into Kane’s eyes, “Probably for the best. I’m gonna go help Briggs.”

“See you around,” Kane said as she went back to working on the Fate Killer.

Zhang walked outside of the station and waited for Briggs to bring their special guest to the station. This Paco character might be the key to riding him and Kane of another ninja.  
As he waited, Zhang thought about their prospects, The green and ice ninja were out of the question. That left four ninja and assuming that everything went according to plan, the fire ninja would be distracted with his own complications. Three left, including any friends they might have. Zhang could manage with those odds. He shouldn’t be too confident though, the ninja have always beaten their enemies. Their biggest strength was each other and their stubbornness. Zhang knew that if he wasn’t careful about it, he would be utterly screwed. The thing he did have over the ninja however, was the will to do what’s necessary to win. Zhang cared about his taskmasters without a doubt, but he knew that personal bonds needed to be put on hold for the mission.  
Zhang watched as Briggs pulled up to the station in her van. When she parked, he walked over to the back and pulled the back door to find a wakened Paco. Paco immediately jumped out of the truck and almost caught Zhang off guard, almost. Zhang got a hold of Paco and knocked him unconscious. Zhang picked up Paco, fireman style, and then he and Briggs made their way to a cell.

“Did you find any plans or signs of communication from the remnants of the Wolves?” Zhang asked.

“No sir, they honestly seemed like they were just trying to make a living.” Briggs responded.

“If only they tried that before they joined up with the gangs.” 

“Anyways, Paco claims to have actually been partnered with Kai. It seems we’ve hit the jackpot sir.”

Zhang looked towards Briggs, “As usual, you continue to exceed my expectations, Briggs. I don’t say it enough but I really appreciate you and everything you do. You would make a great successor to me one day.”

Briggs turned to Zhang with a concerned look on her face, “What do you mean ‘successor’? Is everything ok sir?”

“No, I was just saying that you’d be a worthy successor should something happen, which it won’t. I’ve yet to meet anything that could put me down and keep me down.”

“Well I appreciate the approval sir, but I like our roles right now.”

Briggs opened the door to the cell and Zhang walked in with Paco. He sat Paco in a chair and put his katana to the side, along with a tool box needed for this interrogation.

“Sir, would you like me to get one of our interrogators?” Briggs asked through the cell.

“Nah, this one’s mine.”

Zhang stripped Paco naked and turned on the spotlight right above him. Then he strapped Paco’s arms to the armchairs and his legs to the chair legs. After he placed a gag around Paco’s neck for later use, Zhang pulled a shot of adrenaline and lined it up to Paco’s right arm. Zhang looked at Briggs, who nodded confirming that she was ready, and injected the adrenaline into Paco.

Paco shot up and gasped for air. He took in his surroundings and started yelling out for help. Paco noticed his lack of clothing and started struggling to get out while screaming for help.

“No one’s coming for you.” Zhang announced, “And besides, why would you want to leave? After all, this is the only time in your miserable life that you’re important enough to want to talk to.”

Paco took note of Zhang, who was holding a combat knife, and shut down completely, frozen in fear.

“Now we can do this one of two ways, Paco. Either you can cooperate with us or I can make sure you never have kids.”

Paco’s face drained of color as he tried to cover his genitalia.

“I need some information–” Zhang approached Paco with his knife, “–on a certain fire ninja named kai. Know I already know that you two were–”

“I’ll tell you everything!” Paco exclaimed.

Zhang stepped backwards, “What?”

Paco started crying, “I’ll tell you everything!”

Zhang arched an eyebrow and looked back to Briggs, who sported her own look of surprise as she shrugged her shoulders in confusion.

“I haven’t even done anything to you, and you’re just going to talk? Just like that?”

“I’ll tell you anything! Just please don’t hurt me.” Paco spoke through his sobs.

“Ok,” Zhang said slowly, “I want dates of sales, names of clients, and your testimony. You do all of this and you go free.” Zhang said.

Paco nodded in agreement and spoke while trying to calm himself, “Ok.”

Zhang smiled, “Let’s get started.”

“Zane?” Lloyd whispered.

Zane was laying in the fetal position in the corner and was facing away from Lloyd. Lloyd had been meditating until he noticed that Zane was too silent. The ice ninja had been quiet since they were captured and Lloyd was getting worried for him. What was Zane thinking? Was he hurting? 

“Zane, are you ok? What’s wrong?”

Lloyd waited for a moment before Zane spoke up.

“They did something to me.” he sadly whispered.

“What do you mean? I know they put the bomb in you and they cut off your access to the internet, but what else?”

“I do not fully understand it but my wiring feels off. I have come to realize that my thought capacitors are slowing. It is as if my ability to think is being muffled. I know that my wiring is not in its proper spot. They just put their contaminated hands inside of me and mishandled my inner mechanisms. I feel so...violated.”

Lloyd didn’t know what to say, he wanted to hold and comfort Zane but he figured that Zane wasn’t in the mood for physical contact.

“I can try to do a diagnostic on you and see if I can fix it.”  
“Negative. I appreciate your attempted assistance, Lloyd, but you are not knowledgeable of my circuitry. I would rather wait until we get out of here for Jay to help us.”

“And if everything goes well, that’ll be very soon.” a voice called out.

Lloyd turned to face a woman who just entered the room while Zane remained in his fetal position. Lloyd recognised the former astrophysics doctor immediately.

“You must be Kane.” Lloyd guessed.

“In the flesh.” Kane answered with a sad and small smile, “And while this isn’t exactly how I wanted us to meet, I wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?” Lloyd sneered.

“I want us to help each other Lloyd. To see if we can be a benefit to each other.”

“Help with what, destroying fate? And why would I even want to help you when you put a bomb in Zane’s chest?”

“Because this is bigger than either of us. Fate holds everyone back and has to be eliminated. All it does is hold us back in it’s oppressive grip and take our lives and our loved ones from us.”

“If fate is so oppressive then how are you able to destroy it? Wouldn’t it not let you.”

Kane thought over something in her head before responding, “Two reasons. One is that i’m cut off from fate and my very presence can temporarily cut off others from fate as well. Two, we have a machine that is stopping fate from working. Sorry if your body’s been falling asleep lately.”

“So you want to destroy fate and you want me to help you? No.” Lloyd responded.

“Lloyd, you don’t get it. If we do this then we could change anything, prevent any disaster, and save any one.”  
“Even your family?” Lloyd guessed, “We know about what happened and i’m sorry about what happened to you, but what you’re doing is wrong.”

“What’s so wrong about wanting to give your loved ones a better life? I’d expect that you, of all people, would understand that desire. Fate dictated that your father would be consumed by evil, that he’d abandoned you, and try to kill all your friends. What if he didn’t have to?  
Look at your friend over there. How many times has he been mutilated or attacked or died? If fate was destroyed, we could rewrite his story. Zane wouldn’t have to be known as just the expendable robot in the group.”

“He’s not expendable!” Lloyd yelled, “You can hold my father over my head or torture me but you don't get to say that Zane is any less important than the rest of us!”

Kane backed up a little, clearly taken aback by Lloyd’s sudden outburst, “I wasn’t saying that he was, only that that is the role fate assigned him. Help me destroy fate and we could give both your father and Zane better lives.”

“Is that a guarantee or just a theory?” Lloyd suspiciously asked.

“It’s a chance,” Kane answered, “which is more than can be said for our world as it is right now.”

“A chance isn’t a strong enough reason to destroy fate. You’re not getting any help from either of us.”

Kane scowled at Lloyd, “Typical, of course you would favor the oppressive nature of fate. Like father like son I suppose.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I should’ve known that a Garmadon like you would want to keep Ninjago oppressed. You’re just as bad as you father.”

“I’m nothing like him! I fight the villains for the good of Ninjago, and you trying to compare me to my father only shows how blind you are to your own villainous actions.”

Kane shook her head and grit her teeth, “I’m not a villain. Unlike you, I am trying to save the people. Meanwhile you’re too blinded by your own ego to see that you’re no hero.”

“If I had a dollar for every time i’ve heard that one.” Lloyd muttered to himself.

“Well no matter,” Kane said, “I’m planning on meeting with the other ninja soon. Maybe they’ll have more sense.”

“I doubt it.” Lloyd teased.

Kane ignored Lloyd as she left the room.

A group of five taskmasters drove from their base in the squalors with supplies for the abandoned subway.

“Hey you off this weekend?” the driver said to the passenger.

“Yeah, why?” The passenger responded.

“Well, I was wondering if you could cover my shift this weekend?”

The passenger taskmaster turned in shock, “What the fuck? No way! This is my first weekend off in weeks and i’m not giving it up.”

“C’mon man, I’m trying to spend this weekend with my kid. I’ll cover your shift next weekend, promise.”

“You cover my shift next weekend and do my inventory and we’ve got a deal.”

The driver looked as elated as one could while wearing a mask, “Oh god, thank you. You have no idea ho–”

Before the driver finished his sentence a figure jumped in front of the van. The figure’s arms started glowing and before the driver could react, the van plowed into the figure. Except the figure, a man, grabbed the van and threw over himself. The driver blacked out when the van hit the road upside down. The other four taskmasters got out and recognized their assailant as the earth ninja.

“Where are Zane and Lloyd?!” Cole yelled as he approached the car. 

One taskmaster aimed his rifle but Cole grabbed it and used his super strength to snap the weapon in half. Cole then punched the taskmaster in the face and grabbed his right leg. Cole threw the right leg up as hard as could, causing the taskmaster to flip backwards, hit his head on the pavement, and was knocked unconscious.  
The other three taskmasters ran to fight Cole. The earth ninja focused on the taskmaster on his right. Cole ducked under the taskmaster’s swing and body slammed him into the car. The next taskmaster threw a left jab, Cole caught it and rotated to punch the other taskmaster in the throat. Cole turned back around and twisted the arm he still had to throw the taskmaster onto the ground. He used his strength to break the arm and then stomped on the man’s head, knocking him out.  
Cole focused on the two remaining taskmasters as they both charged him. Cole picked up one of them and threw him to the ground, knocking the wind out of the taskmaster’s lungs. The other taskmaster hit Cole in the jaw and watched in horror as the earth ninja turned around, not affected by the punch in the slightest. Cole grabbed the taskmaster and threw him against the car. Cole then held him there with an arm pressing on his throat.

“Were. Are. Zane and Lloyd?!” Cole shouted.

The taskmaster never even had a chance to speak before he was shot in the head. Cole dropped the body in surprise to find that the last taskmaster was killing all of the other taskmasters.

The last taskmaster then put the gun to his own head saying, “No prisoners.” before firing and dropping dead.

Cole checked the van to see that the driver was gone. He scoured the skies looking for the driver before deciding to return back to the bounty.

Jay continued to scan for any trackers on Lloyd’s and Zane’s GI’s, to no avail. It’d been a full day since the ice and green ninja went missing and everyone was on edge. Kai had tried, in a blind fit of anger, to blame Cole for not protecting Zane and Lloyd but was quickly overruled by Wu. After he calmed, Kai admitted that Cole wasn’t to blame. Cole had searched the squalors and was now scouring the skies and looking for any sign. He was also probably blaming himself for not stopping Lloyd and Zane from being kidnaped.  
Jay, for once, didn’t believe that he held responsibility. Though it is true that if he wasn’t so weak, he could’ve helped them out. But instead, he sat around being useless as usual. Sometimes Jay wondered what the point of him being on the team was if he couldn’t even keep his brothers safe. He was useless and pathetic. Jay tried to shake those thoughts away, so maybe he did blame himself a little.  
Jay heard the sounds of Cole dropping onto the bounty. Jay scanned the city one last time and headed out, he could use the break anyways. Jay walked outside to greet the earth ninja.

“Any luck?”

“Nah, no sign of them” Cole shook his head, “But I ran into some taskmasters, turns out they’d rather be dead then surrender.”

Cole looked down with guilt written all over his face, “I should have gone back for them.”

“Then you would’ve been captured and then we would have less ninja and then everything would be a lot harder for the rest of us to do.” Jay responded, “We need everyone we can get so that we’re able to save our brothers and we can stop Zhang and Kane.”

“Yeah, I just want them both safe.”

Jay put his hand on Cole’s shoulder, “And we will find them.”

Just then, Nya came running out from the control room, “You guys come on. We’ve got a message from Kane!”

Jay and Cole looked at each other and then quickly followed Nya to the message board. They ran in and found Wu, Kai, Pixal, and Misako already there waiting. The wall furthest from the door shows a wide screen with a computer connected to it. The screen showed a video call was incoming. Nya reached the computer, looked to make sure that everyone was present, and accepted the video call request.

Kane appeared on the screen staring directly at the camera and tapping on something before accidentally turning her camera feed off.

“Is this thing on?” She asked as her screen was a giant red “K”. 

“Yeah,” Jay replied, “but your camera feed’s off. Click on the camera button”

Kane turned on her camera and started talking, only to not make a sound as she talked. The mute button was turned on.

“So much for an Astrophysics doctor.” Nya commented.

“Hey dumbass,” Kai yelled, “You’re fucking muted.”

Kane finally turned her mute button off and focused on the unamused ninja, “I hate Zoom,” she muttered under her breath.

“Where the hell are Zane and Lloyd?” Kai demanded.

“I want to meet with you guys,” Kane started, “let’s see if we can work out some sort-”

“Not until you show us adequate proof of Zane and Lloyd’s living statuses!” Pixal interrupted.

“Ok.” Kane complied.

Kane picked up the camera and turned it around to show Lloyd and Zane chained up.

“Lloyd!” Kai shouted.

Lloyd looked fine, if a little concerned but Zane, on the other hand, looked battered and bruised. There were scorch marks on his head and his chest looked a little warped.

“Zane.” Pixal whispered while covering her mouth with her hands. 

“What did you do for him?” Cole asked, clearly trying to hold his anger in.

Kane the camera back on to herself before responding.

“They’re both alive and I want to keep it that way just as much as you do. So let’s meet up and see if we can work out a deal.”

“What makes you think we’d want to make a deal with the likes of you?” Wu challenged.

Kane paused before responding, “I’m not a villain. I just–”

“If you’re not a villain then why did you kidnaped my boy?” Misako challenged. “Why did you kidnap two of our ninja and why were you in league with a psychopath? Do you know how many people have said those exact same words only to find themselves as a villain in the end? You're a villain whether you like it or not.”

Kane’s face hardened as she responded, “I am NOT a villain. I wouldn’t be here seeking a peaceful resolution if I was.”

The ninja looked at each other before Nya spoke up.

“What type of meeting?”

“I want to explain to you my reasons and show you that i’m doing what’s best for Ninjago”

“Where?” Nya asked.

Kane answered, “somewhere public.”

“Wait wait wait. How do we know that this isn’t a trap, and how do we know that you aren’t just showing us a recording of our friends?” Jay asked.

Kane thought about it before responding. she turned the camera around to face Zane and Lloyd. She walked over to them and shook Lloyd awake. Lloyd looked at Kane and then saw the camera and the monitor that should the other ninja.

“Lloyd are you ok?” Kai asked.

“Yeah, but Zane isn’t doing so well.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Pixal asked.

Kane pulled the camera around before Lloyd could respond.

“There’s your proof.” Kane said, “Now are we going to meet or what?” 

The ninja all looked at each other and nodded.

“Ok,” Cole said, “We’re in.”

“Good,” Kane responded, “we’ll meet at the Titanium ninja statue in one hour. And if anything bad happens, Lloyd and Zane are going to be hurt.”

With that, Kane turned off the feed, leaving the ninja to their own devices.

“What are the chances that this is a trap?” Cole asked.

“Unlikely,” Pixal responded, “They have our friends. They have the power and as a result, do not need to set a trap. They believe that threat of harm to Lloyd and Zane is more than enough to keep us under their jurisdiction.”

“Well, they’re right.” Nya admitted, “Let’s get ready for this meeting.”

The ninja walked to their rooms as Pixal steered the ship into the direction of the meeting spot.

About an hour later, the Bounty pulled up to the Titanium Ninja statue. Nya, Cole, Kia, Jay, and Pixal flew down to the statue while Wu and Misako stayed up top to watch for any trouble.  
Pixal looked up to the old statue and felt queasy. She remembered when Zane had first died. When she found out that he was alive, she had been so happy to be with him again, even if she had to share his body. She and Zane had just gotten engaged, and now he was captured and she was worried. Pixal felt an arm on her shoulder and turned to find Kai comforting her.

“Don’t worry Pixal, we’ll find him.”

Pixal replaced her melancholy expression with a small and sad smile. Pixal remembered how Kai had been the only one coherent enough to deliver the eulogy at Zane’s funeral. Kai got a lot of flack for his aggressive and occasionally self centered personality. Pixal, however, came around to feel that Kai was a good leader and had the potential to be a great one. Pixal could only hope that Kai would realize how important he was as the backbone of the team and that he was a good leader in his own right.

“Where is she?” Jay asked, “How does someone forcibly plan a meeting and be late to it?”

“I don’t know, maybe she’s making sure we’re not planning anything.” Nya guessed.

“Well she’s taking way too long.” Cole added while crossing his arms. “If you’re going to threaten someone, at least be punctual about it.”

A black van suddenly pulled up and parked along the statue. Kane walked out while holding a file and headed to the ninja.

“You come here alone? What a superb decision” Pixal sarcastically remarked.

“I’m not alone.” Kane responded as she pointed to Jay's chest.

The ninja and Pixal saw that there was a small red dot trained on his heart. 

“There are eight snipers waiting to protect me. Now, let us sit so we can discuss this.” Kane offered.

The tension was palpable as the ninja and Kane took seats at the table.

“So where the hell is Zhang?” Kai asked.

“He’s meeting with a mutual friend.” Kane offered, “But let’s not focus on that right now.”

“So what do you want?” Nya asked.

“I simply want to explain what i’m doing and why i’m doing it. You’ve all heard of fate, but only the fantasy version of it. Years ago I found out that fate was real. It’s made of Dark Matter, is semi-sentient, and controls only the most important parts of our lives.”

“Can you articulate what you mean by ‘most important parts’?” Pixal asked .

“Births, deaths, marriages, anything like that.”

Jay and Nya looked at each other with concern as Pixal looked down.

“I’m sorry, I know how it feels. I felt the same way when finding that out as well.” Kane offered as she pulled her file and let the ninja examine the photos as she continued.

“Fate is always balancing between good and evil. As one side reigns supreme, fate will influence events to create more champions of the other side to keep the balance.”

“Why?” Nya questioned.

“I don’t know,” Kane admitted, “what I do know is that fate is constantly keeping us in a state of conflict because there can never be true balance. Why do you think you face a new threat almost every year? You have allowed good to reign on far longer than fate would like to and it’s trying to give evil a chance.”

“So then why doesn’t fate just give us a situation we can’t beat?” Cole asked.

“It has. A being of pure evil, a djinn with unlimited wishes, A man who gets stronger by fighting, literal time travelers. You have faced impossible odds when yet you prevail.”

“Then why doesn’t it just manipulate events so we have no chance of winning?” Nya questioned as she looked over the charts.

“It doesn’t determine who wins, it just sets up the conflict and lets it play out. Look at these charts–” Kane pulled out the recording of dark matter and put them on the center of the table. “–They show that when conflicts between good and evil hit their peak, the amount of dark matter in the air will decrease. I think that it waits to see whether good or evil will win in order to plan out the next event.”

Kane finished her explanation and let the ninja take everything in. 

“How the hell are we supposed to believe you?” Kai asked.

“Look at the evidence, it doesn’t lie. We’re all oppressed by fate and we have to destroy it.”

“What happens after fate is destroyed?” Jay asked, “Do we have free will? Do we just wind up with another version of fate? What happens?”

“I don’t know.” Kane admitted. “But what’s the point of living in a world without freedom.”

“What’s the point of having freedom if we have to engage in destructive behavior in order to do so?” Pixal challenged.

Nya also took this time to speak up against Kane, “Even if this was true, you want to destroy a core part of our universe with no idea what’ll happen afterwards. What could be so important to you that you want to risk this?”

“I want to free–”

“None of the freedom bullshit, “ Kai interrupted, “you self righteous people always hide your personal reasons behind some ‘noble cause’ so do us all a favor and just spit it out.”

Kane sighed in annoyance before complying, “The day the overlord attacked, my family and I headed away from the city. We were attacked by one of the stone army. He killed my husband and my daughter right in front of me. He went to kill me but he didn't. I don’t know what happened but the stone soldier just turned and walked away towards the city.”

“That must have been when Dareth took control of the stone army.” Cole deduced.

“Anyways,” Kane continued, “I was temporarily paralyzed in the accident. I finally gained the ability to move the night after the overlord’s defeat and was alone. Afterwards I searched for anything to explain their deaths and eventually found about about fate and it’s oppressive nature”

“I’m sorry about what happened to you,” Kai offered, “but that doesn’t give you the right to go around robbing others and hurting people. You don’t need to destroy fate, you just need help dealing with your loss.”

Kane then let the anger show on her face as she stared at the ninja, “And where were you when my family needed help? I saw your ship floating in the sky, you were just partying with the survivors and throwing caution to the wind, only pretending to be heroes”

“You’re really going to talk about throwing caution to the wind?” Kai challenged, “What about you and Zhang? How many people have you killed to get your chronosteel and computer? Get off your high horse before I push you off.”

“I’m not on a high–” Kane started.

“Yes you are,” Jay interrupted, “you’re just like all of our other bad guys, thinking that they all know what’s best for Ninjago and yet none of your plans ever work out out, and that’s why we’ll beat you just like we did Morrow, Asphera, Pythor, and the Great Devourer.”

Kane tilted her in confusion, “Didn’t Garmadon defeat the Great Devourer?”

Nya face palmed while Kai exclaimed, “Oh my fucking god!”

“We did like 90% of the work! We are never going to live that down.” Cole screamed.

“That’s not the point.” Kane pointed out, “The point is that this isn’t about my supposed ‘ego’ or your failures. It’s about trying to save Ninjago from being forced to live in a free world that doesn’t have to endure countless battles and hardships.”

“And what if you create an even worse world by destroying fate?” Cole asked.

“What if I create an even better world by destroying fate?” Kane countered, “What about all of your troubles? Nya, what if you didn’t have to see all of these villains slowly break your loved ones? Kai, what if you weren’t forced to bear responsibilities no child should ever have to? Jay, what if you didn’t get your future husband killed? Pixal, what if you weren’t forced to watch Zane die? And Cole, What if you weren’t forced to grow up in a society that taught you that your sexuality was wrong?”

“Don’t you dare use those things against us!” Nya declared.

“If you help me, we could create a Ninjago without suffrage.” Kane stated.

“Or we could create a society that only knows suffrage.” Pixal argued.

“Look Kane,” Cole started, “I get what you’re feeling. When I lost my mom, I would’ve done anything to bring her back. It crushed me and still does when I think about her. But you can’t use that loss to justify hurting others. There’s no point in bringing back your loved ones if you hurt others to do it.”

Kane looked sullen as she felt a tear start to form, but she quickly wiped the tear away and hardened her expression, “If you aren’t willing to commit a little robbery to bring back your mom, then you clearly didn’t care about her enough.”

Cole jumped up from his seat and charged at Kane only to be held back by Jay, Nya, Pixal, and Kai. A warning shot rang out and halted everyone in their tracks.

“Cole stop! If you hurt her, they’ll hurt Zane and Lloyd.” Jay shouted while looking into Cole’s eyes.

Cole stopped struggling and formed his dragon. He climbed on the scaly back and shot off towards the Bounty.

“Well,” Jay started, “I believe that Cole’s actions explain what we think of your little proposal.”

Kane looked a little disheartened, “Are you sure?”

“Of fucking course we are.” Kai confirmed. 

“Well then,” Kane started, “Let me explain the situation for you. We put a Bomb in Zane. The bomb is connected to and powered by his power source. If it stops receiving power the bomb will go off. It’s remote controlled and is always occupied by someone. It is powerful enough that it could completely destroy a city block so he wouldn’t survive it. We also cut off his access to the internet so he can‘t escape that way.”

Pixal was trying her hardest not to start crying as Nya comforted her. 

Kane continued talking, “We’re nearly done with our plans but we still need some supplies to get. I’m telling this to let you know that if you try to stop us in any way, we will detonate the bomb. I personally don’t want any harm to come to the ice ninja so please don’t force my hand.”

The remaining ninja stared at Kane and she decided to take a hint.

“Well, I think i’ve made my point. If you change your mind, the offer still stands.” Kane announced.

Kane grabbed her files and made her way to the car. As she drove away from the statue, Kane dialed up Zhang.

“How did it go?”

“You were right, Zhang. They didn’t bite.”

“Told you.”

Kane sighed, “Yeah, go ahead and get rid of the fire ninja.”

“Will do.” Zhang confirmed.

The ninja landed on the deck of the, now grounded, bounty and split up. Nya went to comfort Pixal, Kai went to update Wu and Misako on the situation, and Jay decided that he would check on Cole. Jay walked up to Cole’s door and slowly entered the room. “At last”, Cole’s mom’s favorite song, was playing on the radio. Cole was laying on the bed and didn’t even acknowledge Jay’s presence. 

“Cole, are you ok?”

Cole sat up and turned off the radio. He patted a spot for Jay to sit down on. Jay sat down on the bed and waited for Cole to speak.

“I’m fine, I just...I just forget how much I miss her sometimes.”

“I know and i’m sorry.” Jay said as he put his right arm around Cole, who leaned in and allowed himself to be comforted.

“What did I miss after I left?”

Jay faced Cole, “Cole, I need you to relax.”

Cole chose not to relax, “What do you mean ‘relax’. What happened?”

Jay hesitated and swallowed before he spoke, “They put a bomb inside of Zane and cut him off from the internet.”

“WHAT?!” Cole stood up, “We’ve gotta do something. We’ve got to go get them.”

“We can’t. They said that if we interfere with them in any way that Zane will die and I know it sucks but our best option is to leave them alone and figure out a plan.”

Cole sat back down on his bed, “This can’t get any worse.”

“Hey! What the fuck are are you doing?!” Kai’s voice rang out from the lounge room.

Cole and Jay quickly rushed to the lounge room only to find the commissioner and three cops handcuffing Kai. Nya, Pixal, Wu and Misako were also there.

“Kai Smith, you are under arrest for the possession and distribution of illegal drugs.”

“What’s the meaning of?” Misako demanded to know.

“We had an anonymous source come in and provide evidence of Kai engaging in drug dealing about a decade back. I’m sorry, but I have to do this. It’s the law.”

“Drug dealing? My ninja would never engage in such an act.” Wu stated.

“Jay, take care of Nya. Promise me!” Kai shouted as he was escorted through the door.

“I promise.” Jay replied.

“Nya, i’m sorry.” Kai said quietly as Nya felt the tears falling down her face.

The commissioner started reading Kai’s rights to him as they left the grounded Bounty. Kai watched as Nya saw him be placed into the back of one of the two police cars. The commissioner and a cop got into the car and drove off to the police station with their newest criminal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I've got 2 questions for you guys. Would you consider Kane a villain? Where do you think the story is going? Neither of these answers will affect the story, i'm just curious.  
> See you guys next week!


	9. To find a ninja

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja make a plan to find Kane's base and save Lloyd and Zane. Kai experiences his first day alone at prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy.

Skylor landed on the deck of the bounty and headed straight for Nya. She knew that Nya could probably take care of herself but also didn’t want her to have to. When Skylor got called by Jay, she knew she had to be there. Skylor walked into the main room of the Bounty and found the three remaining ninja, Pixal, Wu, and Misako talking. 

“So how long was he selling?” Cole asked.

“I don’t know, but it was long enough to get his own clients.” Nya sullenly answered.

“Nya, are you ok?” Skylor asked as she hugged Nya.

“I am, but i’m worried about Kai. Last time we were in jail, it was all six of us and we still got jumped.”

“Skylor, did you know about Kai’s past?” Wu asked.

All eyes focused on Skylor, except for Nya who already knew the answer

“Yes. But Kai begged me not to tell anyone and I respected his wishes.”

“Skylor, I know that you promised not to say anything, but we need to know what he did so we know how bad this situation could get.” Misako pointed out.

“Skylor won’t say anything,” Nya started, “she’s too loyal to Kai, but i’ll tell you. Kai sold drugs as a kid. I don’t know when he started but he stopped when Wu started training us. He sold to everyone, even kids.”

“No…” Wu said as he lowered his head in shame.

“What Nya didn’t mention,” Skylor countered, “Is that Kai did it to pay for food and clothes. The blacksmith shop only made enough money for rent. He didn't sell drugs because he wanted to, he did it so you wouldn’t starve or freeze to death.”

“Even so, he shouldn’t have done any of it.” Nya retorted.

“Nya’s right,” Wu said, “we all have choices to make when put in difficult situations. Kai made a choice that directly put others in harm and that is something we can’t deny.”

“Not everybody chooses the right choice Wu, but that doesn't make anyone a bad person.” Misako countered, “After all, hindsight is 20-20.”

“Kai was definitely in the wrong but he did it for good reasons.” Cole argued, “He should face some consequences for sure but he’s not a bad guy.”

“Cole’s right. How many times has Kai helped us save the world? Kai’s always been a ninja and a hero. And what, he’s suddenly a bad guy because he made a mistake, even if it is a pretty big one?” Jay questioned.

“Kai is a ninja, but that doesn’t change the fact that he willingly got people addicted and killed by selling drugs.” Nya retorted.

“To make sure that you lived a somewhat good life.” Skylor pointed out, “You can judge all you want but what would you do in that situation?”

“I wouldn’t sell drugs, I wouldn’t hurt others for the people I love.”

“Oh really, then why did you go for the kill on Zhang?” Skylor asked, “You said that if the bad guys were killed off early then the people you cared for could be safe.” 

“I was only thinking about it while Kai actually sold drugs.” Nya defended, “There is a difference between thinking about doing something and actually doing it.”

“But you did do it. You tried to kill Zhang.” Skylor reminded, “Why is it ok for you to protect your loved ones with bad actions and not Kai?”

“I- it’s not the same thing.” Nya defended.

“How so?” Skylor asked.

Nya didn’t respond and Pixal took the opportunity to change the subject.

“All that matters is that we are down half of our team. This is not the time to be debating personal ethics. It is imperative that we put an end to Kane and Zhang’s schemes. And since we can not do anything at this instant, it might be beneficial to discuss the meeting with Kane in order to find any potentially exploitable ways to beat her.”

Nya and Skylor looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

“Ok so Kane basically said that she wants to destroy fate to free Ninjago and maybe resurrect her family.” Jay said.

“Destroy fate? How is that even possible?” Misako asked.

“Apparently fate is more scientific than we thought.” Cole stated, “Kane said that fate is made of half sentient dark matter and always seeks balance by forcing fights between good and evil. Fate only controls the important parts of our lives; birthdays, spouses, deaths, and so on.”

“No.” Jay declared as he grabbed Nya’s hand, “I refuse to believe that. Fate doesn’t get to decide who we chose to love.”

“It doesn’t matter, Jay,” Nya responded, “all that matters is that you love me and I love.”

Jay gently kissed Nya and Wu stroked his beard before responding, “I’ll admit, i’m not the most knowledgeable in terms of science but I do know history, and I’ve never heard of fate like this.”

“Kane did say that she was the one to discover fate.” Pixal pointed out.

“I’ve spent most of my life trying to understand how our world works.” Misako responded, “All accounts I've read follow two general ideas of fate. One was that fate controls everything and guides us on one singular path. The other idea is that we all have different paths we can walk based on a few key choices that we make through our lives. I’ve never heard of anything like what Kane claims, did she give you proof?”

“She did show us all these charts and stuff.” Jay answered, “Some of them didn't make a lot of sense though.”

“Besides,” Nya joined in, “it doesn’t matter whether this version of fate is true or not. Kane is going to try and destroy it either way.”

Skylor spoke up, “Respectfully Nya, I disagree. It is important, do you know how many people would flip out if they knew that their lives were determined for them? And it is true, then fate makes up our very history and influences our lives. That’s more than a big deal.”

“And what would happen if we allowed this fate to be destroyed?” Wu pondered.

“If fate is as important as Kane claims it is, the factors alone could present infinite outcomes.” Pixal responded, “The elimination of fate could result in either no change to our world, or changes so big they render our world unrecognizable. To be frank, there is no reliable way to predict what might happen if Kane succeeds in her goals.”

“Ugh, why can’t we just go one year without people trying to destroy Ninjago?” Jay complained.

“Kane explained that.” Nya answered.

“Doesn’t Kane understand the risks?” Cole asked.

“You’d be surprised at what people are willing to do for the ones they love,” Skylor responded, “and it doesn’t help that she’s probably blinded by her grief.”

“We cannot allow Kane to succeed.” Wu started, “She doesn’t understand that our traumas give us opportunity to grow. They shape us and allow us to form who we are.”

“Do they?” Jay asked, catching the attention of everyone in the room, “to me, it seems that all trauma and grief does it break people.”

“What are you trying to say, Jay?” Misako asked.

“I’m not saying that Kane’s right but I do see her point.” Jay explained, “If any of us had a way to stop bad things in our life, can we honestly say we wouldn’t take the opportunity?”

“The difference between your proposed scenario and Kane’s reality is that Kane’s choices affect others as well herself.” Pixal argued, “While I understand your perspective, it fails to recognise that your actions affect more than just yourself.”

“Yes but how many people will be considerate enough to think about others if given that choice?” Skylor asked. 

“I get that Kane wants to save her family, and the rest of Ninjago, but the fact is that we have no idea of the consequences and we can’t risk that happening.” Cole stated.

“Cole’s right. Kane’s motivations don’t justify her risking all of Ninjago.” Nya said.

“Kane needs to be stopped.” Skylor determined.

Everyone nodded in agreement. 

“Well I'll keep scanning for any trackers.” Jay said as he headed towards the main room.

As everyone started exiting the room, Skylor headed over to Nya.

“Hey Nya, i’m going to go visit Kai if you want to join me. No pressure though.”

“Thanks, Skylor, but I’m going to help Pixal come up with a plan to find Lloyd and Zane, they’re in more trouble.”

Skylor nodded her head in agreement, “I’ll be back.”

“Skylor wait.”

Skylor turned around, waiting for Nya to continue talking.

“Thank you for sticking around. I know that you don’t have to be here, but you’re helping us a lot.”

Skylor smiled and nodded, then she turned around and headed out of the Bounty.

About an hour later, Skylor arrived at the prison. She checked in, requested to see Kai, and then was thoroughly searched. After being cleared, Skylor was led to the visitation room. The room was split in half horizontally with a wall and windows. There were about ten seats on either side with phones on the visitors’ and prisoners’ sides of the wall. Skylor sat down at the visitors’ side of the window and waited for Kai to come out. After a while, the fire ninja walked out, escorted by four different guards, and was dressed in a classic orange prisoner jumpsuit. He had vengestone bracelets on both hands, denying the fire ninja access to his elemental powers. Kai smiled when he saw Skylor and he sat. They both picked up the phone and talked to each other.

“Hey.” Skylor asked.

“Hey.”

“How are you? Has anyone attacked you?”

“Nah, i haven’t been attacked.” Kai responded.

“Ok good. Kai, I know that you know this but you need to keep a low profile.”

“I am as much as I can. Though, I am pretty hard to miss.” Kai said with a sad smile.

“Kai, I’m serious.” Skylor asserted, “Last time you were locked, you had all the other ninja with you and you still got jumped. It’s just you and everyone in there.”

“I know.” Kai grumbled.

“Do you? Because you’re making jokes when nothing about the situation is funny. You know that the second they get the chance, every convict will be after you right?

“I know.” Kai harshly whispered. 

Skylor looked down and let out a breath, “I–i’m sorry. It’s just that I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I know and it’s ok. Besides, I shouldn’t joke. This whole situation is fucked.”

“No, it’s not ok. I’m still being controlling.” Skylor shook her head, “I spent my life being completely controlled by my father. After the tournament of elements, I finally had my freedom and I wanted to have some control over my life for once. When we got into our relationship, I was so controlling and overbearing that I pushed us away from each other. I’m sorry that I broke us up like that.

“Well you weren’t the only one who wasn’t perfect.” Kai stated, “You know that I was responsible for raising Nya since when I was around 9. I gave up my childhood so she could have hers. And I ran away from responsibility in general. I shouldn’t have gotten into a relationship because I thought I could date you without taking responsibility for it. I put no effort in and I'm sorry I fucked our relationship up like that.”

“I guess we’re both pretty horrible.” Skylor quietly said, earning a chuckle out of both of them.

“You’re not horrible.” Kai mused, “At the very least, you seemed to be the only one who doesn’t hate me.”

“Actually, most everyone understood where you were coming from, even if they didn’t think it was the right choice.”

“Let me guess, except for Wu and Nya?”

“You know them so well. They’re disappointed but don’t hate you.”

Kai sat for a minute before speaking, “Do you ever regret it, our relationship?”

Skylor raised an eyebrow, “No. not for a second. If i’m being honest, I’ve actually always regretted the way things ended between us.”

Kai softly smiled at that, “Do you...still have feelings?”

“Yes.”

Kai thought for a second and then stopped smiling and asked, “Nya didn’t want to come?”

“She and Pixal are trying to come up with a plan.”

“I’m not surprised, she hasn’t looked at me the same since she found out.”

“...well, Nya needs time to cope with it. It’s like, you know how you eventually find out that your parents aren’t perfect?”

“No, they were kidnapped before I could find that out.”

“Right, sorry. Most kids hit a point where they see their parents fail or make a mistake. Then they realize that mom and dad aren’t superman or woman. I think that’s what Nya’s going through. You raised her and whether either of you wants to admit it or not, you are kinda like her father figure. Maybe she’s just coping with the fact that you aren’t exactly the person she thought you were.”

Kai nodded his head, “Or it could be what I did to make extra money.”

Skylor noted how Kai danced around the words, “drug dealer”. It made sense, now hopefully, Kai doesn’t actually get convicted.

“Probably that too. In fact, it’s mostly that.”

Kai remained silent before changing the subject, “Any luck with Lloyd and Zane?”

“It’s like I said before, Nya and Pixal are trying to come up with a plan.”

“Five minutes.” The guard said to Kai.

Kai turned to Skylor, “Skylor, I need you to watch over Nya while i’m gone. She’s going through something, I don’t know what it is, but she is getting dangerous. She has this bloodlust and I don’t think she’s thinking straight. I need you to make sure she doesn’t do anything she’ll regret.”

“I will,” Skylor resolved, “I promise.”

“Thank you.” Kai answered.

Kai and Skylor both stood up and as Kai watched Skylor walk out of the visitation room, He felt the guards pull him into the prison. After they escorted Kai back to his room, Kai sat down and thought over his conversation with Skylor and wondered if there was a chance that they could get back together.  
Afterwards, Kai started doing pull-ups on the horizontal bars on top of the metal door. He tried to ignore all the shouts and insults headed his way as he rotated into doing push-ups. Kai then practiced his forms, he breathed through each move and concentrated on his footwork. Kai rotated into shadowboxing, throwing hooks, elbows and the occasional headbutt. Finally, Kai turned and started hitting the brick wall of his cell, keeping his knuckles, elbows, and head conditioned. The other inmates kept teasing him until they noticed that Kai was starting to break the bricks, if only they knew that Kai was going his fullest.  
By the time that the guards came to escort Kai to the showers, he was drenched with sweat. Kai walked to the showers, making note to not look at any of the inmates despite their offers of sexual abuse. Kai entered and scanned the empty shower room before hesitantly took off his clothes. Kai turned on the hot shower and started rinsing himself off. A few minutes later, Kai heard footsteps enter the room. Kai tried not to pay attention until he noticed that the footsteps stopped right behind him, he turned around to see five guys surrounding him, all of the pulled out makeshift shanks. 

“Hey fire freak,” One of them called out, “I remember you. In fact we all remember you, you put each and everyone of us in this hellhole. But now you don’t have your little ninja friends to help you. You’re all ours.”

Kai smirked, “Can I at least get dressed before we get started? Or did you just come here to see my dick?”

The lead prisoner got frustrated and yelled out, “that’s it, your ass is mine!”

“I don’t know, that sounds pretty fucking gay.” Kai responded as the guys started closing in on him.

One of the guys closed in and jabbed at Kai’s abdomen. Kai pushed the shank out of the way with his left hand and then pushed the guys in the jaw with his right hand, immediately knocking the guy out. One down, four to go.  
The other guys tried to attack Kai at the same time but he flipped over them and landed, albeit not as gracefully as Jay, but enough to not fall. Kai turned around and grabbed the guy on the most right and elbowed him in the back of the head. Then, for good measure, Kai grabbed the guy’s head and slammed it against the shower wall repeatedly, dropping the guy onto the ground once he was finished.   
The three guys started swinging at Kai. Kai blocked one of the guy’s swings, earning him a cut along his forearm, and Kai punched the guy, giving him a bloody nose. Kai knocked him to the ground, but the guy started to get up and grab his knife.   
The two guys circled Kai who charged and punched the leader in the throat. Kai heard the other guy swing at his back and barely dodged it. Kai turned, jumped up towards the guy, and slammed his elbow down on the guy’s collarbone, shattering it instantly.   
Kai turned to face the leader when the man with the bloody nose shanked him in the side of the rib cage from behind. Kai screamed out in pain and pushed the guy back. He took the shank out of his side and launched it into the leader’s genitalia.   
Kai turned to the man with the bloody nose and walked towards him, trying not to move his wound too much. The guy threw a left jab at Kai, who dodge and retaliated with his right hook. Kai then grabbed the guy and headbutted him repeatedly, each time knocking him closer and closer to the ground. When the guy finally hit the ground Kai got on top of him and started punching. Then kai slammed the man’s head on the ground one last time and turned to face the leader.   
The leader tried to back away but Kai was faster. Kai grabbed the shiv imbedded in the leader’s genitals and twisted it before pulling it out. The leader looked up, eyes full of fear as he raised his hand to signal surrender.

“Ok, I surrender! Please don’t hurt me anymore.” The leader cried out.

Kai had no response as he knelt down and knocked out the leader with one decisive blow to the right temple. 

Kai checked his wound before covering himself with the towels as six guards stormed the shower room. Kai finished fixing his towel and put his hands up.

“You guys couldn’t have fucking showed 5 minuets ago?” Kai noted.

One guard scanned the scene before speaking, “Patch up everyone here and then put them all in solitary confinement.”

Kai’s nostrils flared at that, “What the hell man? I was defending myself.”

“Oh really? You call beating these guys over repeatedly self defense? Patch ‘em all up and locked them up in solitary confinement now!”

“Son of a bitch.” Kai muttered as two guards handcuffed and escorted him out of the shower room. 

Once Kai’s wound was dressed and covered, the two guards escorted him to solitary confinement. They open the door to show a room with only a bed, a toilet, and a small barred window. Kai walked into the room and turned around to face the guards. One of the guards started to shut the door but then stopped to quietly and quickly address Kai.

“Just so you know, fire ninja, not everyone here is against you.”

Kai nodded as the door was shut on him. Kai briefly considered sleeping on the bed before deciding on meditating instead. Kai sat down on the floor, got into formation, and started focusing. He slowed his breathing and tried not to focus on the yelling of the other prisoners.

Zane eyed the cell door, debating whether it was worth trying. He was feeling pretty useless since his internet was cut off. A lot of his information was just gone and Zane wasn’t used to the silence that now filled his head. More importantly, though, was that for the first time in almost a decade, Zane couldn’t reach Pixal. They both almost always knew where each other were and considering their line of work, it was a deep comfort. Now Zane was alone, no internet and no Pixal.  
Zane also wasn’t a big fan of having a bomb inside of him. After Zane came back to life, he constructed a way for him to transfer his consciousness onto the internet in the event that his body was destroyed again. But now that safety net was gone and his body felt more like a prison now. If Zane exploded, that was it. And to make it worse, he was the hostage, the damsel in distress. Zane knew that the ninja wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize Zane, even stopping Kane and Zhang.   
He glanced over to see that Lloyd was asleep, they had taken turns sleeping and kept watch to make sure that no one came in, not that they could do anything anyways. Zane slowly got up, trying to make as little noise as possible to not wake up Lloyd. Zane tried to inch as close as he could to the door. When his chains wouldn’t let him get any closer, Zane zoomed in with his eye cameras and focused on the locks of the door. He saw the mechanisms of the lock and started going over what he knew about door locks. Zane was cut off from the internet, but that didn’t mean he had no knowledge of various subjects.   
Zane was trying to identify the lock on the door when he suddenly felt a deep humming in his chest. It was low at first but quickly grew in intensity and grew increasingly higher in pitch. Zane’s body started to vibrate ever so slightly and he backed up in a panic. As soon as Zane backed up, the humming stopped and the door opened. Lloyd was startled awake as Kane entered the room, remote in hand. She shut the door behind her and turned to face Zane as Lloyd rubbed his eyes and tried to piece together what was going on. Kane pulled up a chair and sat down before speaking to the ice ninja.

“Zane, you know that there are cameras in this room right?”

Zane starred and his captor, not saying a word.

Kane signed and scratched behind her ear before speaking, “Look, I don’t like this anymore than you do–”

“And yet you still keep us in here.” Lloyd countered.

“...As I was saying, don’t do anything stupid and we won’t have to activate the bomb again.”

Lloyd’s eyes widened with concern, “What do you mean ‘again’? Zane what happened?”

“Zane tried to figure out the locks on the doors so we started the bomb. This time we stopped the bomb, next time we might not be so merciful.”

“You say stuff like that and then claim that you’re the one in the right.” Lloyd started, “Kane I get what it’s like to lose your family, I really do. But none of this is going to bring them back, it’ll only cause you to lose yourself and then there’s no point.”

Kane thought about what Lloyd said before she got up and walked out of the room

“Please don’t anything stupid,” Kane quietly pleaded, “despite what you may think, I really don’t want to hurt either of you.”

Kane then slammed and locked the door. The two ninja remained silent before Lloyd spoke up.

“Zane, did you really try to figure out the lock?” Lloyd tried to hide the frustration in his voice.

“Correct, I was trying to evaluate whether or not we could pick the lock and escape.”

“Zane, don’t do anything like that again.” Lloyd snapped, “You heard both Kane and Zhang, if we mess around too much they’ll kill you.”

“I am well aware of the risks, Lloyd. However, we cannot improve our current situation by mindlessly sitting here.”

“Well we improve your chances of making it out of here alive. And that's the most important thing right now.”

“No, Lloyd, Kane and Zhang are planning on changing the very fabric of Ninjago. We have to stop them, no matter the cost.”

“Yeah, but that doesn't mean we have to unnecessarily risk your life.”

“We all risk our lives to protect Ninjago, Lloyd. This is no different. Besides, I would prefer not to sit around doing nothing.”

“But right now, it’s not worth risking. I know it sucks staying here, but it’s our best option to keep you alive.

“I do not like sitting here with no motivation to leave. It is bad enough that I am forced to be the hostage. I am utterly inoperative.”

“You’re not useless, Zane. And you’re not stopping us from fighting Kane and Zhang. I get it, I don’t like being kept here either. But I would rather be kept here forever than risk you dying. The team and I already lost you once, Zane, we can’t do it again. We can’t…”

Lloyd and Zane sat quietly for a few moments before Zane spoke up.

“Lloyd, I need you to promise me something.”

Lloyd shook his head, “Don’t talk like that, Zane.”

Zane ignored Lloyd and continued speaking, “I need you to promise that you will not allow Kane her victory.”

“I can’t do that, Zane, I won’t. Making that promise would be like giving up on you and I can’t do that. I gave up on you last time you died and I don’t ever want to do that again.”

“Lloyd, you need to accept that you have no responsibility for what happened or what might happen to me, but this is not about me. Kane is trying to destroy fate, a cornerstone of our universe. There is an overabundance of factors that Kane refuses to consider and this could lead to an infinite number of possible repercussions. That is too big of a risk for all of Ninjago to take. You have to stop Knee, even if that means getting me in the process.”

“I don’t know if I can do that.”

“It would be ok, Lloyd. Compared to all of Ninjago, my one life isn’t worth the risk.”

Lloyd looked at Zane, “It is to me.” 

Just then the door slammed open and an enraged Zhang barged in.

“Your earth friend just cost me the lives of four of my men! Guess who gets to pay for that crime?” Zhang shouted as he grabbed Zane by the throat.

“Leave him alone!” Lloyd yelled.

Zhang pulled out his katana, “Not until he pays for my men’s deaths.”

“It’s ok, Lloyd, i’ll be fine.” Zane tried to reassure his friend.

“No! Punish me instead. Please.”

“No Lloyd.” Zane shouted but Zhang had already started making his way towards the green ninja.

“You know, i’m not gonna ask why you’re so keen on keeping your robot friend out of harm’s way,” Zhang started, “but I don’t care. So this is how we’re going to do this. I’m gonna beat you within an inch of your life. If you scream or resist in any way, I will take my katana and dice your ice friend into pieces.”

Lloyd nodded in agreement.

“No, punish me instead.” Zane pleaded.

Zhang pointed his katana at Zane, “For each time you talk, I’ll cut off one of Lloyd’s fingers.”

Zane immediately silenced himself at that. Zhang holstered his katana and started to beat into Lloyd.

A half an hour later, Zhang walked out of the cell room. He called for one of his medics to patch up the green ninja and went to the engineering station. As Zhang walked, he heard Briggs calling him from behind. Zhang turned around to see her with a distressed locking taskmaster following behind her.

“Sir, sorry to bother you but this is the driver from the earth ninja’s attack.”

Zhang’s interest peaked and he gave the taskmaster a once over.

“So you’re the driver?”

“Yes sir.”

“Well, i’m sorry to tell you this but your other teammates are dead.”

The driver taskmaster was filled with disappointment and sorrow. Zhang put a hand on the taskmaster’s right shoulder.

“I know that it must be hard for you, but I need you to go file a full report on what happened. After that, you can have the week off. Briggs, go help him with his reports please.”

“Yes sir.” both Briggs and the taskmaster said at the same time.

Zhang turned away and walked to the engineering room, then he entered and called out to the lead engineer. He talked to the engineer about the reconstruction of the train. It was to be their escape route in case this base was compromised.  
The train was composed of five cars with two engines at opposite ends of the train. Both engines could control the train, changing the direction of said train. And because Zhang loved his remote controllers, he had ordered a controller that would remotely active or deactivate either of the engines and thus, change the direction of the train at will. Shang took the remote and then scanned the room for Kane.  
Kane was once again at the Fate Killer machine, hooking up wires and directing some engineer taskmasters. Kane saw Zhang and flagged him down. Zhang barely reached her when Kane started talking.

“I need dark matter.”

“This is the last thing you need right?”

Kane nodded her head, “Yes.”

“And why do we need this?”

“The dark matter will allow us to time travel more smoothly. It’s similar to how oil keeps a car engine running smoothly.”

“And where would we find this?” Zhang asked.

“At my old lab at NCU.”

“Man, they must really hate us with how much we’ve attacked them.”

“How much do you need?”

“As much as I can possibly get.”

Zhang nodded in agreement, “Ok, I’ll send three squads to go get the dark matter.”

“I’m going. I know exactly where the dark matter is going to be.”

Zhang sighed in frustration, “I’m not going to be able to talk you out of this am I.”

Kane nodded her head, “No you’re not.”

“...Fine, but if you get killed, i’m taking the rest of your savings. And i'm going with you”

“Sounds like a plan. After this, we’ll be able to finish the Fate Killer and then we will be in control of our own fates.”

“Let’s hope so.” Zhang responded as he left the engineer room.

Cole sat on his bed trying not to hyperventilate. He was worried about Zane, he was also worried about Lloyd but Lloyd didn’t have a bomb inside of him. Cole tried to distract himself by thinking of other things.  
Cole thought of his mom, Lily. She had died years ago but sometimes it felt like yesterday. Cole wondered what she would think of him today. Would she be proud of him? Would she still have been the earth ninja had she lived? Cole walked to his desk and pulled out a photo of her and him from years ago. Cole wondered what she would think of his friends now. She’d probably like them all, especially Jay and his energetic and funny nature. Cole knew for a fact that Lily wouldn’t like Kai’s vulgar language.   
Cole started wondering about Lily’s thoughts on Zane. She would find him a little awkward but would find his personality and intellect surprisingly endearing. Cole wouldn’t be surprised because that’s how he felt about Zane. He and his mom always had similar personalities and tastes so he figured that she’d fall in love with Zane’s ice blue eyes. Well, that wasn’t to say that Cole was in love with Zane’s eye or Zane in general. It was just....  
Cole couldn’t even finish that thought and he suddenly felt very dirty. The earth ninja rushed into his bathroom and started washing his face while focusing on a different subject.  
Cole thought about what Kane had said about her past. That she saw the ninja celebrating on the Bounty after the overlord had been defeated. He thought about that conversation with Zane he had. Zane shared his concerns over his father while Cole was trying to keep it in his pants, being a teenager sucked so bad. Cole wondered what would have happened if the ninja had searched for people who still needed help instead of partying. Would they have found Kane? It didn’t matter now, Cole knew that nothing would change the past. Still, he wished that he would have helped Kane instead of focusing on his crush on Zane. Wait, he didn’t mean crush, or did he?  
Cole looked down at his hand and felt like he didn’t recognise them. He started thinking about his feelings and his life in general. Of all the women that Cole dated, he realized that none of them were romantic. They were nice girls to be sure but they didn't make him feel the way that a few guys had, that Zane had. But did that mean, oh no, no no no no no. That wasn’t possible, Cole was straight, wasn’t he?  
Cole gripped the sink as he realised that he was hiding from the truth. He didn’t like women, at all. Cole didn’t feel so weird around Zane for no reason. Cole’s awkwardness around other guys didn’t come from jealousy, but from attraction. He was exactly what Kennedy had guessed. Cole looked at himself in the mirror and finally admitted it to himself.

He was gay.

Cole broke down silently crying. It felt like one weight was lifted and replaced by another. What would the other think of him? Would they be upset that he lied to them all this time? Yeah, they had been cool with Jay, but Jay also came out early into their relationship. What about the rest of Ninjago? Would they feel betrayed by Cole’s sudden revelation? And his hometown, they’ll probably ban him from his own home. And what about his dad? Cole’s father did support gay rights but how would that change based on his own son being gay?   
Cole felt like he was being swallowed whole when he heard a knock on the bathroom door. Cole jumped in surprise and then cleaned himself up so as to not show that he had just been crying. Cole opened the door to find Skylor there waiting for him. 

“Hey Cole, Nya and Pixal...hey are you ok?”

“Yeah,” Cole put on a half hearted smile, “Just got something in my eyes. What’s the word?”

Skylor clearly didn’t believe Cole but chose not to press further, much to Cole’s appreciation.

“Nya and Pixal are calling us all to the meeting room, they have a plan to find Lloyd and Zane.”

Cole nodded his head, “Let’s go.”

Cole and Skylor entered the room and found Nya, Jay, Pixal, Wu, and Misako waiting with the overhead map opened. Jay looked suspiciously at Cole, noting how guilty and troubled he looked. Cole caught Jay looking at him and quickly turned away, which only validated Jay’s suspicions of Cole. As soon as Cole and Skylor sat down, Nya started talking.

“Pixal and I came up with a plan to find Lloyd and Zane. We’re going to track a taskmaster back to their base.

“How?” Jay asked.

“Simple,” Pixal answered, “as you might recall, Kane announced that she would be getting supplies to finish her plans. We are going to wait for her to attempt to steal those supplies and then we will plant a tracker on them. This will allow us to track them back to their base. When we arrive at the base, we will turn the bounty invisible.”

Pixal then pulled a bomb out of a box and put it on the table, much to everyone but Nya’s surprise.

“This is an EMP generator. As long as it is running, it will shut off everything electrical in that base, including any radar that might track us.. Zane and I will not be affected, however, since we are both powered by our own energy sources. This will keep the bomb turned on. The important thing to note is that the remote controller for the bomb will be turned off. We will infiltrate the base and stealthily rescue Zane and Lloyd. The Bounty will be powered separately with its own power source, courtesy of Cyrus Borg, and will be protected from the EMP as a result. This will allow the Bounty to remain powered and invisible.   
As soon as Lloyd and Zane are on board, we will retreat and build distance between the controller and the bomb, cutting off the connection between the two. This will buy us time to remove Zane’s bomb.” 

“How will we get in close enough to put the tracker on?” Cole asked.

“Skylor will go invisible and put the tackers in.” Nya responded, “She’ll also be wearing a special suit that will mask her from infrared vision. Any questions?”

No one responded so Nya continued, “Ok then, all we have to do is wait for Kane to attack somewhere, however long that takes.” 

Two days passed as the ninja waited for Kane to strike and nothing of interest had happened other than Cole locking himself in his room and avoiding Jay like his life depended on it. It wasn’t that Cole didn’t trust Jay, but 

Skylor was helping Jay scan Ninjago when the alarms went off. Jay quickly pulled up the location and found that Zhang and Kane were hitting NCU again. Everyone else quickly entered the room.

“Man they must really hate that place.” Jay observed.

“Skylor, you have to go right now. Do you have the infrared suit and the invisible parachute?” Nya asked.

“I’ll go put them on.” Skylor said 

The bounty turned invisible and flew to NCU as Skylor put on her suit and parachute. The infrared suit was basically a black plain jumpsuit with a head covering helmet instead of a hoodie. When they reached NCU, Skylor walked up to the edge of the flying Bounty. 

“Good luck.” Cole said.

Skylor winked at him and the other ninja and she jumped off the bounty. Skylor fell to the ground and looked for a good spot to land. She settled on a gassy plane next to a building surrounded by taskmasters and turned herself invisible. As Skylor got closer to the ground she opened up her parachute and softly landed on the ground.   
Skylor took off the parachute and snuck into the building. The building looked to be a lab, filled with tables and containers of various liquids. There was a backroom but it was blocked with a room full of enemies.  
Skylor counted about fifteen taskmasters, along with Zhang and Kane. She saw them moving barrels of liquid and read the writing on said barrels. So they were after dark matter, Skylor decided that getting to the backroom was the best option. She crouched down, held her breath, and started making her way by crawling under the tables.  
Skylor made it halfway across the room when she accidentally tapped a chair, it didn’t move but was loud enough to get the attention of everyone in the room.

“Anyone see anything?” Zhang asked.

“No sir,” a taskmaster responded, “but when I was at the museum, one of the ninja could turn invisible.”

“Everyone turn on your infrared vision.”

Skylor very slowly made her way to the back door as the taskmasters started searching for her. She slipped into the backroom and was startled to see a security guard hiding in the back with a baton. After deducting that the guard couldn't see her, Skylor found three barrels of dark matter. She took out the tracker, a thin small disk, and was trying to figure out how to insert the tracker when she overheard a taskmaster speak up from the front room.

“I don’t see anything boss, someone one probably just hit the chair.”

Zhang didn’t look entirely convinced, “Alright, let’s hurry up. Get the barrels in the back.”

Skylor backed away from the barrels as guard, realising he had nowhere else to run, got ready to attack. Kane and a taskmaster, with a pistol, walked in and were abused by the guard. The taskmaster pushed Kane out of the way and engaged the guard. The guard tried to get a head lock on the taskmaster but only managed to get his helmet off, exposing the taskmaster’s face. Skylor decided to help the guard and made sure that Kane wasn’t paying attention to the fight as she was still getting up. While the taskmaster overpowered the guard Skylor swept the taskmaster’s legs and that gave the guard the chance to slam the taskmaster’s head against the wall, knocking him out. The guard then turned and faced Kane, and while the two fought each other, Skylor got an idea.   
She opened the taskmaster’s mouth and put the tracker inside. The Skylor ever so slightly forced the taskmaster to swallow the tracker. There, it should last long enough for the man to reach the taskmasters’ base.  
Skylor turned to see Kane being put in a headlock by the guard. She was struggling until she reached into her pocket and pulled out a pen. She stabbed the pen into the guard’s face and was released from his grip. Kane gave up the taskmaster’s gun and, in a panic, shot the guard in the chest. Kane looked horrified as she dropped the gun and Zhang and the rest of the taskmasters barged into the backroom. The taskmasters loaded the three barrels and started loading their unconscious comrade into the vans as Zhang addressed Kane while Skylor crouched down in the corner, staying invisible.

“What happened.” Zhang asked.

Kane was still in shock, forcing Zhang to interpret the events.

“You shot him?” Zhang asked.

“I–I didn’t mean to but he just charged at me, it was me or him. I didn't want to.”

“Hey, it’s ok.” Zhang tried to calm Kane, “You’re right, it was either him or you. Come on we need to get out of here.

Zhang, Kane, and the other taskmasters left and Skylor was suddenly left alone in the room. Skylor radioed for a pick and cautiously made her way out of the building. She saw the taskmasters’ vans leaving and turned off her invisibility. A few moments later the Bounty came and lowered it’s ladder for Skylor. She climbed the latter and made her way to the map room. She entered and saw that everyone was watching the tracker as it made its way out of Ninjago City. 

“Good job Skylor.” Nya said as she gave Skylor a highfive.

The ninja waited for about a half an hour until the tracker stopped at an old abandoned station.

“So that’s where you are.” Cole said.

“Gear up, ninja.” Wu commanded, “We have some ninja to save.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys, how's it going? Sorry I haven't been able to read and respond to your comments, i'm in the process of moving and with school and writing the story, i'm stretched a little thin. No moral questions for this chapter. Next week, the ninja are going to storm Kane's base to rescue Zane and Lloyd.


	10. Subway Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja finally embark on their mission to save Lloyd and Zane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, this is a big chapter. It's actually the biggest chapter so far. Enjoy!

Kane rushed to her desk, sat in her chair, and pulled up her computer. She started looking up the hospitals in Ninjago City. She reached for any recent shootings, most were gang related but she soon narrowed down the robbery shootings. Kane looked through the database and found him, the guard she had shot. Kane pulled up his file and read the summary on his current condition, stable. He’d have a long recovery process but he would live. Kane sighed in relief and sat back in her chair.

“I take it he’s not dead then?” Zhang asked as he leaned against the wall.

“Thankfully no.” Kane turned around to face her partner, “You seem disappointed in that.”

“No, not disappointed. I just don’t want you to think that you’ll always get this happy ending.”

“Happy ending? There’s nothing happy about it. The guard jumped me and I defended myself. He got shot and I almost took the life of someone who was just trying to do their job.”

Zhang shifted off the wall, “Just trying to do their job? Kane, this is the first time you’ve shown any concern about people who are ‘just trying to do their job’. You’ve helped rob and kidnap people who were just doing their job.”

Kane folded her arms, “Robbing is a little different than almost killing someone, Zhang.”

“You’re right. I’m just trying to tell you that in this line of work, you can’t always expect to be this lucky. Especially when your ambitions are as high as destroying fate.”

“I know that, but I don’t need to stoop to your level to accomplish my goals.”

“My level? Kane how are you so smart yet so oblivious at the same time? You aren’t on my level, yet. But you are getting there, not that that’s a bad thing. Like I said, our line of work.”

“Doing what we’re doing doesn’t give us a right to act however we want. It might be a good enough justification for you, but not for me.”

“You’ve helped us rob, steal, and shoot a guard. You needed a way to distract the ninja and of all the plans you could have come up with, you chose to attack a gala full of innocent people. It was your idea to rob and kidnap two of the ninja. And you still think that you’re altruistic? Why, because me and the taskmasters did the work? I know that’s why you hired me. Did you think that you could just come up with the plans and then think that because my men and I did the dirty work that your hands were somehow clean? No Kane, you’re not the virtuous person you want to be, and that’s not a bad thing, it just means that you understand how the work works. But don’t try and act like you’re something that you aren’t.”

“Well that’s funny coming from you,” Kane retorted, “I don’t seem to remember you objecting to any of these actions before.”

Zhang shrugged, “I’m just doing what you hired me to do. You’re still the brains of the operation, you’re still the one calling the shots. Yes, I help you in your mission but you’re still the one who decided to rob, kidnap, and threaten people.”

Kane starred at Zhang, clearly affected by what he had said, “I’m not a villain. I’m not doing this for my own personal gain, i’m trying to save Ninjago.”

“Saving your family isn’t a personal gain?” Zhang asked before he shook his head, “You can say that you’re not a villain as often as you want, it doesn’t make you any less guilty. Look, I get what you’re trying to do. I want to give the squalors a chance to be better just as much as you want your family back. But it’s like I said before, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes if you want to get your family back, and I think you’re starting to understand that now, whether you want to admit it or not.”

With that, Zhang walked out of the room and left Kane to her own devices. Zhang walked to the mess hall and got food for his captive. It was white rice mixed with a fried egg. As he walked, Zhang thought about the current situation. Three ninja were out of the picture but the remaining ninja obviously had help. The samurai and the girl who could turn invisible and had control over fire. That was still a threat to him and Kane.   
Zhang then headed to the newly stocked medical station to grab ice/hot packs, rubbing alcohol, and aspirin, he then made his way to the cell.   
Zhang had tried to tell Kane before what this situation would turn into. Conflicts almost always escalated until they were either solved or blew up and caused an even bigger problem. And their conflict with the ninja undoubtedly blew up the second two of the ninja were kidnapped. If he was being honest, Zhang knew that he couldn’t hold back the ninja forever. The kidnappings, the exposure of the fire ninja’s crimes could only buy him and Kane so much time. And Zhang was getting the feeling that the ninja were scheming at this very moment. Would he and Kane be able finish their mission before the ninja caught up to them? Only time would tell.  
As Zhang approached the cell, he grabbed a tablet and caught up on the news. As expected, the front page of the news was all about the arrest of the fire ninja.   
Zhang headed to the engineering room to check on the new grappling devices being developed. Zhang had commission wrist mounted grappling hooks to be able to scale walls and buildings. Once he saw that the test runs were a success, he ordered that they were attached to every taskmaster. Zhang then continued heading to his original goal, he hated getting sidetracked.  
Finally, Zhang reached the cell door and opened it. He walked in and saw Zane examining Lloyd’s swollen face. Zane looked at Zhang and shook his head before turning back to Lloyd. Zhang couldn’t blame him though, Zane and Lloyd could‘ve been treated better.   
Zhang set the food down and then walked over to the two ninja. Zane instinctively put himself in front of Zhang and the green ninja.

“Calm yourself, Zane, i’m trying to help him.”

Zane didn’t move an inch, clearly not believing Zhang, “It would be a first.”

“Yeah? Well there’s a first for everything so move over or i’ll blow you up”

Zane hesitated before standing aside. Zhang knelt down received minor resistance from Lloyd, who couldn’t really do much anyways. 

“Get away from me.” Lloyd pleaded.

“Relax, i’m only here to help.” Zhang tried to reassure him.

“I don’t want your help.”

“Christ,” Zhang muttered under his breath, “if I always got this emotional over one beating, none of my trainers would have kept me around.”

Zane caught what Zhang had said and spoke up, “Well perhaps if you did not inflict such physical trauma, then Lloyd would not be experiencing his current disdain towards you.”

“Disdain or not, you won’t be a good hostage if you’re dead.” Zhang said to Lloyd, “So do us both a favor and help me help you not die.”

“It will be ok Lloyd. I will be right here for your comfort.” Zane offered.

“See, even the robot agrees. Now, let’s look at those wounds.”

Zhang reached out but Lloyd continued to push against him. Only when Zane knelt down and squeezed Lloyd’s hand did the green ninja relented, letting Zhang look at him. Lloyd’s eye bulged with redness and irritation. Luckily, it wasn’t infected. Zhang dressed and put an ice/hot pack on it to the eye. Zhang then went to work, caring for the same injuries he had inflicted earlier. Zhang had even found a few cuts along Lloyd’s arms and face. When it was all said and done, Lloyd was bandaged and cleaned up. Zhang stood up, turned around, and picked up the food. Zhang walked over and set it down at Lloyd's feet. The green ninja stared at Zhang suspiciously.

Zhang rolled his eyes, “Oh come on, if I wanted to kill either of you I would just set off Zane’s bomb, not poison your food.”

Zane’s eyes focused on the food for a few seconds before he addressed Lloyd.

“The food contains no poisonous or otherwise harmful substances.” Zane confirmed.

Lloyd started digging in before putting his food down and eyeing Zhang, “Why?”

Zhang crossed his arms, “Why what?”

“Why are you suddenly not being evil to us?”

Zhang didn’t want to admit it but in the event that the ninja somehow managed to get both Lloyd and Zane out of his clutches, they would put in a not so bad word. Maybe the ninja would hunt his men down like the earth ninja did after all was said and one. Zhang decided to change the subject.

“So have you seen the news?”

Zane stared at Zhang in irritation, “That rhetorical question is not amusing, especially given that we have no method of observing the news.”

“Oh, it’s everywhere. The fire ninja has been arrested on suspicion of selling drugs.”

“What?!” Lloyd asked.

“Improbable,” Zane said, “Kai is not one to harm civilians, much less sell drugs.”

“But it's true.” Zhang argued, “He sold in the squalors to everyone, even children.”

“You’re lying!” Lloyd accused.

“No, I'm not.” Zhang calmly responded, “It’s the truth, even if you don’t want to believe it.”

“You have given us no reason to believe you or your word.” Zane pointed out.

Zhang grumbled as he opened his tablet and pulled up the news feed. He tossed the tablet to the ninja and let them read. Zhang knew they believed him as their faces went through a variety of actions, from shock to anger to melancholy to disappointment. Lloyd especially appeared horrified by what the article accused Kai of doing.

“But...that’s not possible.” Lloyd’s voice grew quieter with each word, “that isn’t what ninja do.”

Zhang leaned back against the wall, “Apparently it is. How ironic is it that you ninja claimed to be champions of good? But you can’t be as good as you think you are if you’re willing to let someone like him–” Zhang nodded to the picture of Kai on the tablet, “–on your team.”

“We do not have all the facts,” Zane stated, “we do not know why Kai committed these acts or if he is even guilty of said acts in the first place.”

“Since when do you care about motives?” Zhang asked, “Kane explained to you that she is only trying to save Ninjago from an endless cycle of chaos and you rejected her because she stole a few trinkets. Yet when your so-called “brother” gets arrested for selling drugs, you suddenly take motivation into consideration.”

Zane looked up at Zhang, “The fact that you even have to ask that question proves that you would not understand, or accept, the answer.”

“Are you saying that because it’s true or because you don’t really have a response?”

Zane remained silent, not because he didn’t have an answer, but because he wanted to waste his time on Zhang. Zhang took the hint and smirked as he turned to walk out of the room, slamming the door on his way out.

Zane turned around and checked on Lloyd’s bandages, he didn’t trust Zhang enough to properly treat Lloyd. Zane focused on examining Lloyd’s wounds but couldn’t but noticed the green ninja’s silence.

“No need to worry, Lloyd. I am quite confident in Kai’s ability to protect himself.”

Silence. After a few moments, Zane tried to reach Lloyd again.

“Lloyd, Kai will be ok.”

“I should’ve been there.” Lloyd sorrowfully said.

“You could not have been even if you wanted to.” Zane shook his shackles to prove his point. “Even if you were there, you could not have changed anything.”

“It doesn’t matter, Kai’s always there for me. And the one time he might need me, I can’t be there.”

“I understand your frustration, Lloyd. I want nothing more than to feel Pixal’s embrace again. But we have to be smart about this lest we lose that chance.”

Lloyd breathed deeply, “Either way, It’s my responsibility.”

“You know, you remind me of the greek legend of Atlas.” Zane stated.

“The who?” Lloyd asked.

“Atlas was famously known for holding up the sky, essentially holding the weight of the world on his shoulders. Holding up the world was a punishment for Atlas, as a result, it was excruciatingly painful. You are very much like him, the only observable difference being that he was forced to carry the weight of the world whereas you, similar to a sadist, willingly put yourself in that turmoil.  
Lloyd, I am aware that you seem to be a comfort to Kai but we have to focus on our situation first.”

Lloyd hung his head low, “I don’t want to. I’m the leader, and more importantly, i’m Kai’s friend. I’d rather help him than help myself.”

“Lloyd, you cannot hope to help others if you’re injured as well. In order to properly be of aid to Kai, you must be doing well yourself.”

Lloyd looked to Zane, “Well that’s ironic coming from you.”

Zane formed a confused look on his face, “Pardon?”

“You just said that I can’t help others if i’m hurt myself, but that’s what you do all the time.”

Zane paused for a second before changing the subject, “You need to rest, Lloyd. Save your strength for when we get out of here.”

“Guess I stumped you.” Lloyd muttered as he fixed his position. 

As Zane started his shift guarding the cell door, Lloyd calmed his breathing and meditated the night away.

In theory, it should have been easy for Kai to concentrate on his meditation. The few good things about solitary confinement where the fact that he was isolated from everyone else and the silence. So when Kai got into formation he should have easily slipped into the clutches of meditation. He didn’t. Instead, Kai desperately failed to control his frustration. It was as if the more Kai struggled to relax, the less relaxed he became. His mind was clouded with various thoughts and feelings. However, one emotion overcame the rest of them, anger. 

“Fuck!” Kai shouted as he jumped up.

Kai stomped up to the metal wall and started hitting it. He hated this situation, but that wasn’t what made him angry. He had been here once and was a victim of attempted rape and as much as that bothered him, that wasn’t the cause of his rage either.  
Kai was stuck at this prison, with who knew how many prisoners out to get him and less than helpful guards. He was going to be put on trial and, more likely than not, be exposed for his crimes. Then he would be stuck in this hellhole for who knows how long. If he ever was released, Kai would most likely be alienated by everyone and would never escape his past. But none of that was pissing Kai off. What agitated him so much was the small nagging feeling that he deserved this. Kai knew that his actions were not ok but he only did them because he had to...right? Kai wasn’t sure, but he knew that if he could go back, Kai would do things differently. And yet he couldn’t, all he could do was suffer the consequences.  
Kai felt the wall start to bend around his fists. As more and more blows were dealt, the metal became more and more dented. It was only when the guards rushed in and physically threatened Kai that he stopped and sat on his bed. As the sun dimmed and gave way to the glow of the moon, Kai settled into his bed to go to sleep. Kai’s last thoughts were a recap of the last day: Skylor’s visit, the shower attack, and solitary confinement. Kai hoped that his second day in prison wouldn’t be as entertaining as he slept.  
Kai spent the next morning practicing his form until the guards came and got him for his morning exercise. Apparently his time at solitary confinement was over.  
Kai ran around the prison yard, ignoring the various insults thrown his way. He finished another lap, one mile down, two to go. Kai picked up the pace and noticed a few prisoners running after him. Kai heard the heavy footsteps and rugged breathing behind him and turned to see about four other prisoners following him. He tried to figure out their motives when one of them spoke up.

"Calm down fire bitch, we're just trying to run. Not everything's about you."

Kai flipped them off and continued to run. As he finished his second mile, Kai noticed that one of the prisoners was trying to compete with him. Kai decided to let the guy trail behind him. As the two competitors race laps around the courtyard, Kai was impressed by the prisoners performance. He would have figured that the man would have slowed down at least a little bit. When the two men started their last lap, Kai decided to cut loose. He took off as fast as he could towards the finish. The other man desperately tried to keep up but couldn't and eventually fell behind. Kai finished up his third and final lap and stopped to catch his breath.   
A few seconds later, the man caught up and sat down on the ground. He had dark brown skin, small brown eyes. He had matted black straight hair that reached to his shoulders. After a minute of rest, the man looked to Kai.

"Jesus Christ you're fast."

"Yeah."

"You're the fire ninja right?"

Kai stood up, "Why are you asking?"

The man stood up as well, "Just trying to be friendly." 

"Really?" Kai asked, "That's pretty doubtful."

"Come on, do I look like a threat to you?" The man asked while offering his hand.

Kai looked at the hand and very hesitantly shook it, "My name's Kai." 

The man smiled, "I'm Dick."

Kai paused, "Well that's a pretty shitty name to have in jail."

Dick smiled, "Tell me about it. So what are you in here for?"

"I'm being accused of selling drugs. You?"

"Eh, got caught robbing a convenience store."

"Ok…"

"Kai Smith!", one of the guards called, "Come with us, you have a visitor. "

Kai looked at Dick, "I guess that's my cue."

Dick watched as Kai walked away, "Nice meeting you."

"Sure." Kai muttered under his breath as he walked away.

Kai entered the visitors room expecting to find Nya but to his surprise, Kai's old partner was there instead. Kai, confused as he was, managed to sit down and pick up the phone.

"What the fuck do you want Paco?!"

"Bro I'm so sorry, but I didn't have a choice man. They were going to cut off my balls."

"What the hell do you mean?" Kai asked before putting two and two together, "You're the one who turned me in." He snarled. 

"Kai, it's not like that-"

"When I get out of here, I'm going to fucking to kill you." Kai aggressively whispered so that none of the guards would hear his threat. 

"Kai I didn't turn you in." Paco insisted. 

Kai narrowed his eyes, "what do you mean?"

"It was Zhang. He had a chick kidnap me and tortured me for information about you."

Kai suddenly thought back to his meeting with Kane. She had said that Zhang had gone to meet a "mutual friend". 

"Fuck." Kai mumbled. 

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Kai." Paco offered, "Please don't kill me."

Kai took a deep breath, "I won't."

"Ok, cool." Paco said as he got up from his seat, "Hey, when you get out, hit me up. I'd really like to catch up with you."

Paco left the room and Kai was escorted to his cell. The guards locked the doors behind Kai and he laid on his bed, contemplating what Paco had said.

Jay looked out to the abandoned Subway station through his binoculars. It was small, unsuspecting, and perfect for a base. No one would ever look at a train station, and if Jay had found a working train, it could be used for a good getaway plan. Jay saw that there were two helicopters by the base, which seemed to be the only indication of activity at the base. Jay heard footsteps behind him and turned around to find Pixal behind him.

“Have you located the base?”

“Yeah.” Jay responded as he handed Pixal the binoculars. “The station is mostly underground and, if i’m right, there might be a train there.”

Pixal replied, “What gave you the impression that there would be a train there?”

“Well if I was an evil villain who was hiding from the ninja despite the fact that I kidnapped two of them, I'd want to have an escape route. And with an abandoned station, that probably means having a train.”

“Yes, that seems plausible. Let’s head inside and brief for the mission.” Pixal announced before walking back to the map room.

Jay followed and entered the room. Pixal called and waited for everyone to arrive. Nya, Cole, Skylor, Wu, and Misako entered the room.

“Is everyone aware of the plan?” Pixal asked, to which the ninja nodded in agreement.

“Ok then, Once we set off the EMP, Misako and Wu will stay to guard the Bounty while the rest of us will infiltrate the ship. We will split into two smaller groups to minimize the risk of being caught. These two groups are Nya and Skylor, and Cole, Jay, and myself. We will sneak onto the base and get the ninja out. Remember, our mission is to get Zane and Lloyd out and in order to do that we can’t be distracted.  
In order for us to make sure that Zane doesn’t blow up, we have to get far enough away from the remote detonator that it loses its connection.”

“It won’t blow up if it loses the connection?” Cole asked.

“No, it’s too much of a risk for Zhang.” Pixal stated.

“That’s right.” Jay thought out loud before speaking up, “There are too many factors that go into wireless connections, whether, energy shortages, all that jazz. It would be really stupid of them to rig the bomb to blow up if the remote looses connection because you risk something happening like blowing up your whole base because your controller lost its batteries.”

“Precisely,” Pixal agreed, “which is why it is imperative that we get out before anything can happen to the EMP. I understand that it might be tempting to try and put a stop to Kane and Zhang but we have to focus on getting Zane and Lloyd out of there.”

“But why stop when we can just end their plans right then and there?” Jay asked.

“Because I do not want to risk the loss of Lloyd or Zane.” Pixal somberly answered.

Jay knew that Pixal wanted to bring Zane home but if they could stop Zhang and Kane in their tracks right now, why shouldn’t they? Jay watched as Pixal pulled up the map, they were close and it was time to rescue their friends.

“We are here.” Pixal explained as she activated the invisibility cloak on the Bounty. 

The Ninja got up and headed out to the deck of the Bounty. They looked down at the base that had their friends. Pixal started up the EMP generator and looked at the base that held the ninja.

“Be careful ninja,” Wu warned, “That base is most likely a whole fortress and it would be unwise to kick the hornet’s nest. And make sure not to let anyone shoot a gun. In a location like this, it might as well be an alarm.”

“Don’t worry.” Misako added, “We’ll be right here if you need us.”

“Thank you.” Pixal started, “Ok, once I have activated the generator, the power will go out but everyone in that base will notice it. It might take some time for the taskmasters to recognize that the power outage isn’t just an accident. And when Lloyd and Zane are found, that group needs to get out and signal its success with four shots from the Bounty. This signal will mean that the mission was a success and that it was time for us to leave. Now, is everyone ready?”

The rest of the ninja indeed agreed and Pixal turned on the generator and set it by the stairs on the outside of the Bounty. Because dragons and a giant samurai power suit would be too noticeable, the ninja opted for invisible parachutes instead. When they were ready, Pixal, Nya, Skylor, Cole, and Jay, jumped off the bounty and fell to the subway station. As they approached the station. Everyone deployed the chutes and glided don to the side of the entrance to the station.  
When the ninja snuck around to the front entrance of the building, they found two taskmasters guarding the door. 

“I got this.” Skylor whispered as she turned invisible.

Skylor snuck over and slowly picked up a rock, keeping it low to the ground as she approached the two men. Skylor got into position and charged at the closest taskmaster. She jumped, locked her hands around the taskmaster’s neck, landed on his hips, and used her momentum to swing and send the guy flying to the ground. Skylor rolled into a standing position and threw the rock at the other taskmaster. He dodged the rock and looked for his invisible assailant, not realizing that she was right behind him. Skylor kicked in both knees of the taskmaster and choked him out in a headlock. She felt the taskmaster go limp and gently set him down, and Skylor looked up to see Cole stomp on the face of the other taskmaster, knocking him out as well. She turned herself visible again.  
Jay went to one of the taskmasters and examined the body. Hmm, these grappling hooks were a new addition. He then tried to remove the suit only to be shocked by countermeasures. Jay would’ve been hurt but being the master of lightning had its benefits, so the electricity just flowed through him and went back into the body of the taskmaster. 

“Guys, we can’t use the suits.” Jay announced as he looked at the suits, “They’re built with countermeasures that will shock us if we try to take them off.”

“No problem,” Nya tried to reassure everyone, “We’re ninja, we’re masters of stealth. We’ll make it.”

The rest of the ninja headed to the entrance while Skylor and Cole took their taskmasters and hid them around the building. The ninja then entered the building and shut the door behind them. The ninja tried to see darkness with a few flashlights roaming around and the voices of many taskmasters trying to figure out what had happened with the power. There were two paths the ninja had to face now, the hallway that followed straight down and the path to their immediate right. Nya and Skylor nodded at each other before they headed down the left pathway, leaving Cole, Jay, and Pixal with the main hallway.

Nya stuck to the shadows while Skylor simply turned invisible and walked ahead. The taskmasters seemed to be all around them and Nya constantly expected them to get caught. Nya heard Skylor’s footsteps stop and Nya stopped herself. Skylor briefly appeared visible, mouthing the words, “three approaching,” before turning invisible again. Nya looked around for a hiding spot as three lights approached. Nya saw an old concession stand and ducked behind it. She settled against the stand wall and felt her heart stop as the stand creaked. 

“What was that?” one of the taskmasters asked.

“Let’s go check it out.” another replied.

Two of the taskmasters slowly approached the stand when they heard the sound of something hit the ground to their left. The third taskmaster called out to them.

“C’mon, we have to finish our patrol on time. Besides, it was probably just a rat.” 

The two taskmasters then left the stand and joined the third taskmaster on their patrol. Just then, Skylor appeared next to Nya.

“I can’t believe that rock trick worked.” She said.

“Come on, let’s continue,” Nya suggested as she got up.

Skylor went ahead of Nya as they continued on their route. Soon they reached the train tracks and gazed at the train. It had an old steam powered engine attached to both ends of the train, with five cars in between. There were a couple of taskmasters who were patrolling the train. 

“Looks like they’ve been busy.” Skylor whispered.

“Probably for quick evacuation purposes.” Nya guessed.

The two women then made their way to the other side only to almost run into some other taskmasters, there were six of them all together. Nya retreated behind a stack of boxes and Skylor reappeared next to her.

“Ok, I know that I can get past them, but you can’t. We should separate them and take them out.” Skylor suggested.

“Yeah.” Nya agreed, “You lead some away, I'll take out the rest.”

Skylor nodded and then turned invisible. She walked past some of the taskmasters and when she reached the other side of the train, banged against some of the walls. All six taskmasters stopped their patrols and focused on the noise.

“I’m starting to think that this isn’t just a case of power outage.” a taskmaster said.

“Zip it.” another taskmaster ordered as he pointed to two other men, “you two, check it out.”

Two of the taskmasters left and followed the noise to the tunnel, one in the front and one in the back. They walked slowly and unknowingly passed Skylor. As soon as they were out of sight of the others, Skylor picked up a metal crowbar on the floor. She walked to the taskmaster in the back and got him in a headlock. The taskmaster struggled to breathe and the first taskmaster seemed oblivious to the situation behind him. Skylor slowly set the taskmaster’s body on the ground and walked to the second taskmaster. The taskmaster finally turned around only to see a floating crowbar swinging right for her face. The taskmaster collapsed but Skylor managed to catch her before she hit the ground. Two down, four to go.  
Nya crawled under the train and watched as four pairs of legs moved around her. She waited for a pair of legs to be by themselves, when they were, Nya attacked. She crawled to the taskmaster’s feet and swept them out. The taskmaster fell and was disoriented enough to let Nya pull him under the train tracks. She covered his mouth before he could scream and she repeatedly hit him in the head until he lost consciousness. Nya got out from under the train and saw a lone taskmaster checking the windows of the train cars. She ran up to him and kicked the inside of the taskmaster’s leg before slamming his head against the side of the train. Then she grabbed his left arm and broke it. Nya heard the other two taskmasters approaching her so she climbed up the side of the train car. The two taskmasters met up and examined the body of their fallen comrade.

“Shit.” one of the taskmasters exclaimed.

“The ninja are here.” The other taskmaster guessed, “We have to warn Zhang, let’s go.”

Nya knew that if Zhang caught wind of the situation, their job would get a whole lot worse. So, in the heat of the moment, Nya jumped down straight on top of another taskmaster. The taskmaster collapsed to the ground and Nya stomped on his head thrice. Nya turned around to see the other taskmaster aiming his gun at her. The taskmaster started talking when a floating crowbar came from behind and slammed against his temple. Skylor turned viable and looked at Nya. 

“These guys are so much easier to beat when they don’t know we’re here.”

“Ditto.” Nya replied, “Come on, let’s go.”

With that, the two women made their way through the station.

Soon they came across a room with four guards guarding it.

“A room with four guards? Must be important.” Nya noted.

Skylor appeared next to her and nodded, “how do you want to approach this?” 

“I get the drop on two of them and you make sure the other can't fire their weapons.”

Skylor nodded and then turned invincible. Nya took a deep breath and then charged to the taskmasters. Because of the darkness, the taskmasters couldn’t see her until it was too late as Nya jumped and kneed one of the guards in the collarbone, shattering it. The first taskmaster fell and Nya rushed to the second one. The third and fourth taskmasters drew their guns only to be attacked with a floating crowbar. The crowbar hit the third taskmaster in the temple and the fourth one in the side of their knee. The third taskmaster was then hit repeatedly in the head until he stopped moving. Nya waited for the second taskmaster to swing at her and then dodge and punched the man in the throat. She then finished the second guard off by kneeing him in the head. Nya then grabbed the fourth taskmaster and held his hands behind his back. Skylor made herself visible and knocked out the last guard with one good swing to the jaw.  
Nya and Skylor started searching the bodies until Skylor held up a key. She handed the key and then turned invisible again.

“Just in case.” She said to Nya.

The water ninja nodded in agreement and went to unlock the door, but she hesitated. What was waiting for her in that room? Would her friends be ok, will they be alive. It just now occurred to Nya that Zhang could have easily walked over here and killed both ninja the second that the power went out. That thought made her feel sick to her stomach.

“Don’t worry.” Skylor said, trying to reassure Nya, “Zhang would have done anything to them if there was a chance that the power outage was caused by the ninja.”

Nya wondered how Skylor knew what she was thinking but still doubted her words, “How do you know?”

“It’s what my father would have done, it’s what I would’ve done. So take it from someone who’s been around villains her whole life, Lloyd and Zane will be fine, ok?”

Nya nodded her head, then she swallowed her fears and opened the door. Inside were two figures, one asleep and one keeping watch. The figure keeping watch got up and peered at the water ninja.

“Nya?” A robotic voice cautiously asked.

Nay rushed forward to unlock the door while Skylor turned visible. Nya unlocked the door and rushed to hug Zane.

“Oh god, i’m so glad you’re ok!”

“Nya, you have to get back. Zhang put a–”

“It’s ok,” Nya reassured Zane, “We know about the bomb. We set off an EMP to stop it from going off.”

Zane let out a breath of relief, “Where is Pixal.”

“She, Jay and Cole are also searching the station.” Skylor responded, “We just managed to find you first.”

Nya checked behind her, “Look, we can catch up later but for now, we’ve got to go.”

Zane knelt down and gently woke up Lloyd. Lloyd sat up and rubbed his eyes before recognizing Nya’s voice. He ran to her and hugged her.

“You came.”

“Of course we would. Now we have to go.”

“Is it true about Kai.”

“Lloyd. We’ve got to go, we’ll talk about it later.” Nya insisted.

Lloyd’s face grew with concern, “But what about Zane’s–”

“We already took care of the bomb,” Skylor interrupted. “Now if we don’t get out of here soon–”

Skylor was interrupted by a large bang, a gunshot going off. Almost immediately, countless voices rose up and anger could be heard in their words.

Jay was really glad that Lloyd had forced him to do all those pull-ups. Right now, he, Cole, and Pixal were all hanging on to the edges of the bars attached to the ceiling. A large group of taskmasters were heading their way and this seemed like the best option at the time. Now, they were stuck shiming across the ceiling with a large group of taskmasters right below them. Jay was starting to wish that he had joined Nya and Skylor in their path. His arms were starting to feel sore and they had made very little progress. When the crowd finally passed, the trio dropped down and started shaking out their arms. 

“Man, i’m so glad I have my super strength.” Cole whispered.

“No time for talking, we need to move .” Pixal responded as she led the way.

“Pixal, are you sure you can’t track Zane down?” Cole asked.

“Unless Zane gets connected back to the internet, no.”

The three of them continued making their way down the hall. Soon, they reached an opening and saw a steam engine train on the other side of the tracks.

“Is that...Nya?” Jay asked. 

He, Cole, and Pixal looked across the tracks and sure enough, the water ninja was on top of the train tracks with two taskmasters below her.

“Where is Skylor?” Pixal asked.

They watched as Nya dropped on to one of them. She took the guy out but the other taskmaster aimed his gun at her and Jay instinctively jumped up to help his future wife. He didn't have to, however, as the man suddenly collapsed to the ground and Skylor quite literally appeared out of nowhere. The two of them then headed down the tracks.

"Come on." Pixal said, " We need to continue."

Pixal led Cole and Jay down a corridor until they heard two men talking ahead of them.

"And you're sure that nothing is wrong with the power infrastructure?" A voice asked. 

"Zhang." Pixal harshly whispered.

"Yes sir. All reports have said the same thing, whatever killed the power came from an external force."

"It's the ninja." Zhang deduced, “Locked down the base and put everyone on alert. I’m going to check on the Fate Killer, Make sure that more taskmasters get sent to watch the captors." 

“Yes sir!” the taskmaster confirmed before he started running down the hallway.

The ninja all started panicking at the nearing footsteps until Cole directed them to what appeared to be the medical room. They entered and ran straight into two medical taskmasters. Before the taskmaster could react, Cole and Jay pumped them and started choking them out while Pixal kept her eye on the door, making sure that no one had heard the scuffle. After making sure that the taskmasters were hidden out of sight, the two ninja and samurai cleared the rest of the room. All that was left were the medical supplies. 

“We have to keep moving.” Pixal stated.

“Wait,” Jay counted, “this is their medical station. What if we sabotage it. We would make it harder for Zhang to treat his men.”

Pixal shook her head, “No. If someone comes back and sees the mess, they will know that we are in this vicinity. Zhang has his suspicions of our presence but no proof, yet. We need to preserve this illusion.”

“I’m sorry Jay, but Pixal’s right.” Cole added, “It’s only a matter of time before these guys wake up, we have to stay focused on the mission.”

Jay threw up his hands, “Fine, but don’t blame me if this whole thing goes on longer than expected.”

The three exited the medical building and continued their search for Zane and Lloyd. Along their way a few more flashlights appeared in front of them. Jay hid behind a couple of boxes while Cole jumped up and clung to the ceiling. Pixal simply pushed herself against the metal wall and pressed a button to camouflage herself against the metal wall.

As they made their way down the dark path they heard the familiar voice of Kane arguing with Zhang in a room labeled, “Engineering Room.” Jay snuck over to the opened window, despite Pixal’s silent protest, and listened in.

“We need to get ready to relocate.” Zhang insisted.

Jay lifted his head a little and peered into the room. Zhang was standing opposed to Kane, who was standing next to a machine. Jay figured that this was the Fate Killer, but what did it do?

“Are you even sure they’re here?” Kane asked, “The Fate Killer isn’t made to be lugged everywhere so don’t tell me to move it unless it’s an absolute certainty.”

“Listen, there was nothing wrong with the power sources. My guess is that this is the work of an EMP. Even if your machine is a little fragile, I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Zhang suddenly stopped talking and listened causing Jay to duck down and hold his breath for what seemed like forever.

“Anyways, as I was saying,” Zhang started much to Jay’s relief, “The ninja are here and we aren’t safe. That’s why we have to evacuate, because they could be anywhere. They could be at the entrance, the cell, the train....or even HERE!”

Zhang burst through the window and pulled Jay into the room where he put the blue ninja into a choke hold. Cole and Pixal rushed to the door only to have Kane appear from the door with a gun in her hand, halting both of them in their tracks.

“Don’t do it.” Kane commanded, “I fire this gun once and everyone here will hunt you down.”

Both Cole and Pixal raised their hands in surrender.

“Good.” Kane said, “Now let’s head inside for a chat.

Everyone headed inside and Zhang let go of Jay, who quickly recovered.

“How are you ninja smart enough to bring down all defenses of a base and dumb enough to stop during a mission and listen in on a conversion?” Zhang asked. 

“We’re just stubborn like that.” Cole responded before shouting, “Now!”

With that, Jay shot lightning at both Zhang and Kane. Zhang barely dodged the lightning blast only to get slammed into the wall by Cole, who used his strength to lift Zhang up by the collar of his shirt. Kane was hit by the blast and Pixal snapped the gun out of her hand. Pixal then disarmed the gun and pinned Kane against the wall. Jay charged up blasts of lightning in both of his hands, daring either of the villains to make a move. Zhang remained indifferent to the lightning hands but Kane looked noticeably concerned as she stayed perfectly still.

Zhang chuckled a little as his feet swung above the ground, “Well that was efficient, i’ll give you that. But strength isn’t everything.”

Cole shook Zhang harshly, “Where are Lloyd and Zane? Tell me now!”

Zhang’s face suddenly hardened, “That intimidation trick won’t work on me like it did my men!”

Cole grew weary of his patience as he headbutted Zhang, “Tell me before I break your neck!”

Zhang felt the blood dripping out of his nose and decided to pull an unexpected move. He kissed the earth ninja. Cole was so taken aback by the kiss that he didn’t even have time to realize that Zhang’s leg had recoiled and launched straight into his genitalia. Cole dropped Zhang and wheezed in pain. Before Jay could shoot his lightning, Zhang pushed Cole in front of him, forcing the earth ninja to take the brunt of the attack. Zhang then took out his own pistol, aimed it towards the ceiling, and fired the gun.   
The noise rang out and was echoed against the tight walls until it covered the whole base. That echo was quickly followed by countless voices and movement all over the base. The hornets’ nest had been disturb.

“So much for a quiet get away.” Zhang said as he aimed his gun at Jay.

Before Zhang could fire, Cole grabbed the gun and broke it. He then picked up Zhang and threw him against the wall, knocking the wind out of his lungs. At the same time, Pixal knocked the lights out of Kane. The three ninjas looked at each other and shook.

“We’ve gotta go!” Cole shouted.

“Wait, what about this.” Jay questioned why gesturing towards the Fate Killer, “It must be important to them and if we take it, we might be able to stop them.”

“Jay, it is too risky.” Pixal argued.

“Come on, we do this, we beat them and save Ninjago.” Jay pleaded.

“Alright, Jay.” Cole gave in, “I’ll carry it and you and Pixal cover me.”

“Will it even fit through the door?” Pixal asked.

Cole punched a sizable hole through the wall and answered, “It will now.”

“This is too risky.” Pixal argued but Cole had already used his super strength to lift the machine.

“Let’s go.” Cole said.

The three ninja left the room with the machine. A few minutes later, Briggs entered the room with about 13 taskmasters and checked on Zhang and Kane. 

Zhang got up and went to Briggs who handed him his red katana and a pistol.

“You holding up ok sir?”

“They stole the Fate Killer. We can’t allow it to get away.” Kane announced.

“I’m taking these taskmasters to cut off the entrance.” Briggs said.

Zhang nodded his head in agreement, “Good, and told any other taskmasters you ran into to go to the train. I have a feeling that the ninja will go there if cornered. And if you manage to cut off the EMP, radio in and let me know.”

Briggs nodded and then took off with her group of taskmasters to block the entrance.

“Do you always kiss everyone who threatens to kill you?” Kane asked.

“Only when I know it will catch them off guard.” Zhang replied as he turned to face Kane, “Now, are you ready to get that machine back?”

Kane picked up her gun and reloaded it, “Yes. Do you have the train controllers?”

Zhang pulled out the controls for the train and then asked, “Do you have the bomb controller?”

“Yeah.” Kane answered as she pulled out the remote controller for the bomb.

“Good,” Zhang said, “now let’s go get that Fate Killer back.”

Pixal slammed into a taskmaster as Jay kept shooting lightning behind them. Cole sprinted as fast as he could only to be stopped by a line of taskmasters. They all aimed their weapons at the three heroes when they were attacked from the left by bursts of fire, ice, water, and energy.   
Out of the shadow stepped Nya, Skylor, Lloyd, and Zane. Cole felt his heart drop as he set the machine down. Pixal and Zane embraced in a way that only two lovers could, Pixal also examined Zane’s broken eye and felt anger swell inside her. Cole and Jay practically squeezed Lloyd to death. Zane then hugged Cole from behind and Cole felt butterflies in his stomach. Pixal left the group to scout ahead and make sure the entrance was clear.

“What is that?” Nya asked, pointing to the machine.

“I don’t know, but it’s important.” Jay answered, “I’m guessing that this is supposed to help destroy fate. We took this so they couldn’t use it.”

Jay had just finished his sentence when bullets started flying as Briggs and her taskmasters fired at them. The ninja ducked left back into the left corridor to avoid the shooting. Cole tried to see how many taskmasters were attacking only to note the three rocket launchers being loaded. Pixel tried to run down stairs but was met by a storm of bullets. She ran back and called out to the ninja.

“They have too much fire power!” Pixal yelled.

Nya thought for a second before yelling out, “Pixal get to the Bounty, we’ll get out on the train tracks.”

Pixal nodded her head and replied, “Take the northern tunnels. I’ll get you when the trains get out of the tunnels.”

Pixal turned around to run but caught a stray bullet to the back of her leg. Once again, she thanked herself for her metal skin and took off with the taskmasters in tow. 

The ninja headed down the left path with Cole struggling to get the machine through. Eventually, they reached the train and started boarding it. Nya and Zane turned to see Zhang and Kane arrive with a few taskmasters in tow. 

Nya turned to the other ninja, “I’m going to buy us some time. Jay, get the train working!”

Skylor to join Nya, “You’re crazy if you really think that i’m going to let you take them on all by yourself.”

Zane jumped down, “What is it that you would say? Ah yes, ditto.”

The three ninjas charged at Zhang and Kane while Cole tried to fit the Fate Killer onto the train, Jay worked to start the steam engine, and Lloyd climbed on top of the train to snipe the taskmasters with his energy beams. He would have joined in the fight but Lloyd was exhausted from his captivity and feared becoming more of a burden than a help.  
Zane watched as Zhang drew out his red katana and charged. Zhang swung downward and narrowly missed Zane. Zane stepped back and dodged Zhang’s swing. Zane analyzed Zhang’s attacks, and his form was good. The equalized pressure on both of his feet suggested that Zhang didn’t have a preference on his stance. Zane flipped backwards to dodge Zhang’s wild swing. Zane was confused, why was Zane swinging wildly when he was clearly a master of the martial arts. Zane thought about it and realized that Zhang was trying to goad Zane into making a mistake. Zhang was only pretending to swing recklessly to boost his confidence. Zane then deduced that he would have to play into Zhang’s strategy and then counter. Zhang thrust forward and Zane intentionally flipped over and over reached for Zhang. Zhang immediately grabbed Zane’s arm and swung the katana down on him. Zane however expected this and when he landed, he fell down barley missing Zhang’s swing. Zhang was shocked for a split second, giving Zane enough time to grab the handle of the katana and break Zhang’s grip on it with a swift kick. Zhang let his face contort in anger as Zane formed his own stance with Zhang’s red katana. Zhang went to attack but was blasted back by Lloyd’s energy blasts.  
Cole finally found a place for the Fate Killer, between the second and third car. And gazed out onto the battle to see reinforcements coming in.  
Nya dodged as Kane shot at her, noting that the former doctor only aimed for the arms and legs. Kane ran out of bullets and Nya grabbed her by the neck. Nya put both hands around Kane’s neck and started squeezing while Kane tried in vain to free herself. Nya could end it all right now. All she had to do was snap one neck and she would’ve saved everyone, wasn’t that worth her soul?

“Don’t do it!” Skylor shouted.

A taskmaster then attacked skylor while she was distracted and forced her onto the ground and started choking her. Nya looked at Kane and then at Skylor who was clearly losing the fight. Nya cursed to herself and threw Kane to the ground in favor of helping Skylor. Nya kicked the taskmaster in the head and helped Skylor up. A taskmaster reached for them only to have her hand sliced off by Zane, who was clearly enjoying the red katana he stole. The three ninja slowly backed up towards the train as the twenty taskmasters approached them.  
Cole jumped down and sent a spike of earth towards the taskmasters to buy them time. Jay finally started the train as the taskmaster approached.

“Guys get on the train!” Jay called the other ninja.

Nya jumped onto the train and was pulled aboard by Lloyd. Cole grabbed both Skylor and Zane and used his strength to leap onto the train. Jay briefly showed excitement as the train gathered speed only to have his hopes dashed as Zhang, Kane, and the taskmasters hopped onto the engine at the other side of the train. The taskmasters climbed onto the roof and started making their way to the Fate Killer machine.

“No!” Jay cried out, “Lloyd, take the wheel.”

“What wheel?” Lloyd asked but Jay was already gone.

The train traveled down the northern tacks as Jay climbed onto the roof. Lloyd grabbed the controllers instead, trying to keep the train on the track. The taskmasters started to secure the Fate Killer. Jay couldn’t let them take it, this was his chance to not make the situation worse like he did with Nadakhan or Unagami. For once, he could prove himself useful and stop the villains before they reached their goals.   
Jay started shooting lightning and managed to knock some taskmasters but it wasn’t enough to stop them. Jay climbed fully onto the ceiling of the train and made his way to the taskmasters, to the disapproval of the other ninja.

Pixal exited the station and called her Samurai mech from the Bounty down to her. As she climbed into the suit, The taskmasters arrived and started shooting at her as she flew towards the Bounty. The rocket launchers fired at Pixal but instead, missed and hit the invisible Bounty. The invisibility cloak glitch, leaving Briggs surprised to temporarily see the Bounty.

Briggs called out to her men, “Fire you rockets in that area!”

The Bounty was bombarded with rockets and missiles. Normally, it would be able to dodge projectiles with ease but the low altitude and closeness to the station meant that the Bounty only had so many options. With last barrage, the invisibility cloak was knocked out, Completely exposing the Bounty. Another missile hit too close to the control room.  
Briggs recognized that if there was any place that had the EMP, it was probably that ship. Pixal came to attack the taskmasters but was instead shot in the chest with missiles. She was forced to land on the deck of the bounty and yelled at Misako to get the ship away from the taskmasters.

Briggs called out to her taskmasters, “Use your grappling hooks to get on that ship! And when you do, destroy the EMP!”

All of the taskmasters aimed their grappling hooks at the side of the Bounty and fired. They each landed on the side of the ship, but Briggs pulled one the taskmasters back.

“You and I need to pilot the helicopters if the other men destroy the EMP that way we can rescue them.”

The taskmaster understood what Briggs had meant and they each went to the two helicopters to try and restart them over and over.  
Pixal climbed out of her mech and joined Wu on the deck as the Bounty lifted higher and higher into the air. Pixal called out to Wu.

“Where is misako?” Pixal asked, “There are too many of them for just us two to handle.”

“She’s piloting the Bounty.” Wu responded, “One of the missiles knocked out the autopilot.”

Just then, the taskmasters started climbing onto the deck. Pixal had run up and pushed one taskmaster off the ship before she could fully climb onto the deck, sending her falling to the ground below. Wu used his spinjitzu to toss aside a few of the taskmasters. Pixal hopped into her mech suit, while it was broken, it still worked enough to fight. Pixal swiped at the taskmasters knocking two of them over the side. One of them latched onto the side and one fell to the ground below. Wu smack one of the taskmasters across the head and then started engaging three other taskmasters at one. Pixal keep trying to swat the other taskmasters likes ants. She got a couple of them, but there were still seven of them left. 

“There it is!” One of the taskmasters pointed to the generator at the base of the stairs.

Miskao tilted the ship causing one of the taskmasters to fall off the side. Two taskmasters recovered and then started shooting at Misako and managed to get a hit. Misako was knocked back by the bullet, which caused the bounty to tilt to the other side before starting to lose control. 

“Get to the wheel!” Wu called out as he knocked another taskmaster off the ship.

Pixal spirited to the wheel and grabbed it, stabilizing the ship. She quickly checked on Misako, noting the gunshot in her side. Pixal watched in horror as the remaining taskmasters all belined for the EMP generator.  
Wu used his spinjitzu to throw all but two of the taskmasters away. One taskmaster unclipped a grenade as the second to last taskmaster was thrown off the ship. The taskmaster then tossed the grenade and turned to fight Wu. The fight lasted seconds as Wu quickly threw him to the side, but it was enough as the grenade went off, completely destroying the EMP generator and Pixal felt her heart sink. 

Briggs finally felt the helicopter start up and she and the taskmaster took off for the bounty. The two helicopters partially landed on the bounty and rescued the remaining taskmasters and took off. Wu climbed up the stairs and took the wheel from Pixal.

“Pixal, you need to stabilize Misako!” Wu shouted.

“You have to follow the northern tracks, that is the tunnel that they are supposed to come out of!” Pixal said as she picked up Misako and rushed to the medbay.

Pixal hoped that they could make it to the ninja in time, the ninja most likely didn’t know that the power was back on.

Briggs radioed Zhang as she piloted the helicopter, “Sir, The power’s back on.”

“Good job. Take the injured back to our base in the squalors, we’ll be there shortly.” Zhang replied before hanging up. 

Zhang turned to see the lightning ninja approaching and started firing at him. Jay shot an arc of lightning and forced Zhang into a defense play.

“Jay what are you doing?!” Nya demanded to know.

“I’m going to stop all of this!” Jay said.

“He’s going to kill himself.” Cole pointed out.

“It is imperative that we ensure he does not get caught or hurt.” Zane said.

“Fine, but for the record, I don’t like this.” Skylor said as she, Nya, Cole, and Zane jumped onto the top of the train to aid Jay.

Kane and Zhang looked up to see the ninja slowly approaching the Fate Killer. Jay had crossed the first cart onto the second cart.

“Shit.” Kane said as she saw the only chance of ever seeing her family slowly slip from her grasp.

Zhang looked at Kane, concern was all over his face.

“Kane, The ninja are approaching. You know what you have to do.”

Kane pulled out the bomb detonator and it suddenly felt heavy in her hands, “I-I don’t want to. I can’t”

Jay inched closer and closer to the Fate Killer as he crossed onto the third cart with the Fate Killer settled between the forth and fifth cart.. Zane was in front of Cole, with Zhang’s red katana in his hand. And the rest were following behind.

Zhang grabbed Kane’s hand, “Kane, if they get to that machine, you lose the only chance you have of saving your family.”

Zhang then climbed down the side of the fourth car and made his way to the side of the third cart.

Kane closed her eyes and thought of Marie’s smile and David’s puns and jokes. That life could be hers again, but she had to be a murderer to achieve it? Was it worth it? Kane cried as she made her choice. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.” Kane whispered as she pushed the button. 

Zane stopped moving as he felt a familiar humming.

Zhang pulled out his pistol and shot the chain link between the third and fourth car, separating the train with him, the Fate Killers, and the taskmasters on the fifth and fourth carts and the ninja on the first three. Zhang put his gun away and then pulled off the train controller and activated the engine on their side, shooting his train in the opposite direction towards the squalors.

“No…” Jay whispered. 

“Zane, what’s wrong?” Cole asked as Zane stopped moving.

Zane wordlessly jumped off of the train, only to be caught by Cole. 

“Zane what are you doing?!”

“Cole, they activated the bomb…”

Cole’s heart died, “What, no. That’s not possible.”

“Cole”, Zane called out with a heavy heart, “I need you to promise me that you won’t let the team fall apart.”

Cole started crying as he heard the other ninja panicking . “Please don’t do this.”

“And tell Pixal that I was thinking of her in the end.” Zane added before he felt the humming increase in his chest, “Cole, you have to let me go.”

Cole shook his head as Lloyd joined the other ninja, “No! Drop the katana and give me your other hand so I can pull you up.”

Zane took one last look at the ninja, his friends and family. Zane looked at Cole one last time and simply uttered, “I’m sorry.” 

Zane then used the red katana to sever the arm that Cole so desperately clung onto and felt himself drop onto the tracks.

“NO!” Cole cried out as the train 

Neither Cole nor any of the other ninja could do anything now but wait as the train sped down the tracks, leaving the ice ninja behind. A few seconds later and a massive explosion went off followed by a wave of heat and flames. The tunnel itself started crumbling when they finally exited the tunnel to see the bounty flying and approaching them. 

“Cole we have to go.” Lloyd called out, getting the earth ninja’s attention.

The heat wave forced the ninja to abandon the train and use airjitzu to fly onto the bounty, though Skylor had to be carried by Cole. The five ninja had landed the deck and collapsed.

Pixal ran out of the medbay and looked for Zane, only, he wasn’t there.

“Guys, where is Zane?” Pixal quietly asked.

Lloyd was on all fours trying not to throw up. Nya and Jay were both hugging each other and crying. Skylor was leaning against the wall in shock.

“Where is he? Where is Zane?” Pixal asked loudly.

Skylor walked and tried to hug Pixal, “I’m so sorry.”

Pixal shook her head in denial, “No..no, no, no. Where is he? Where Is He?”

Pixal finally settled on Cole, who was sitting and crying as he rocked back and forth. He held something in his hand, it was Zane’s arm.

“Pixal, he’s gone.” Skylor sadly said.

Pixal pushed Skylor away, “No I don't believe you!

Where is he? 

Where Is Zane?

Where. Is. He?

Where. Is. He?!

WHERE IS ZANE?!”


	11. Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja deal with the repercussions of their failed mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I'm not going to lie, I've been waiting to show you guys ch.10-12 since I started the story. There are conversations that happen that I've been waiting to show since the beginning of the story. This chapter is full of angst and is completely focused on the ninja. There is sad story involving kids that does come up, it's not sexual assault though. It starts when Kai is listening to the radio so if you don't want to read that, skip ahead to when the story shifts to Lloyd. Enjoy.

Then

The clock struck three p.m. as Cole looked at his ghostly hands and tried his hardest not to cry. It had been a few days since the ninja’s first visit to Yang’s place, a few days since Cole had become a ghost. At first, the others had tried to help but Cole wanted to be alone. He wanted some time to think by himself.  
Now Cole stood here in his room, unable to grab the dial to turn on his music. The one thing that could help calm him down and he couldn’t even turn it on. Cole tried in vain to turn the stereo on only to feel his fingers go through the radio. Cole pulled them out in fear, what if his fingers decided to solidify while in the radio? What if he got water sprayed on him? What if he slowly faded away? Cole felt his heart increase and his feet started to sink into the floor as he lost focus, which only served to increase his anxiety. Cole tried to relax himself, which was like telling someone not to think of elephants. Cole was half tempted to let himself fall through the ship, but decided not to. After a few minutes, Cole calmed down enough to rise to the floor again. He then solidified his feet and was back at square one. Cole stared back at the radio until someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.” Cole halfheartedly called out.

The door opened and Zane walked into the room, “Greetings Cole.”

“Hey Zane.” Cole responded. “What did you want.”

“I came by to observe your emotional condition.”

“Oh...well I’m fine, I just can’t get the radio on.” Cole responded.

Zane examined Cole’s face, “Is that the explanation for you crying?”

“No. I just got frustrated because I turn the stupid radio on.”

“So you are merely frustrated solely due to the fact that you can’t play your music?” Zane asked suspiciously.

Zane waited for Cole’s response and approached the earth ninja. Cole finally broke as he sat down on his bed and started crying. 

“I’m a freak.” Cole cried out.

Zane stood by Cole as he continued, “I can’t do anything. I can’t hold my weapons, I can barely keep myself from falling through the floor, I can’t even turn on my stupid radio. I’m useless and I don’t even feel like a person.”

Zane let the room air out from Cole’s emotional outburst before responding.

“You are not a freak Cole. You are different but you are still the same stubborn person I know.”

Cole crossed his arms, “I feel like one.”

“So did I.” Zane countered, “When I first learned of my robotic origins, I felt like a freak as well.”

“Well it’s different for you.” Cole claimed.

“How so?” Zane asked.

“You were always a robot–”

“Yet I did not have any indication. One minute I was a weird human, the next minute I am a robot. Is that any different from you suddenly becoming a ghost.”

“Well...a little.” Cole mumbled.

Zane chuckled, “Yes, I suppose it is. Nevertheless, I understand how you are feeling about feeling different, like a freak. I can assure you, however, that you are still Cole. Nothing will change that.”

Cole looked down, “That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t even feel like a person .”

“Why does being a ghost automatically equate to you not being a person or useless? You have only been a ghost for a few days, when I realized I was a robot, it took me weeks to fully tap into the internet. It has been almost five years and I still have yet to figure everything out. Do not be concerned Cole, you will figure it out, and I will be right here to assist you.”

Cole remained silent, clearly unconvinced.

“Cole, do you remember when I confessed my conflicted feelings about my father to you? Do you remember what you said?”

Cole slowly shook his head.

“Well I remember,” Zane responded, “Even without my recordings, I have never forgotten.” 

Zane opened up his chest, exposing circuitry and buttons. He activated a recording of himself and Cole’s conversation and skipped forward to a specific point. He then let it play and Cole’s voice could be heard.

“You have every right to question yourself, it’s a very human thing to do. The fact that you have these concerns at all proves that you have your humanity. You’re perfect just the way you are and none of us would trade you for anything”

Zane closed the recording and looked at Cole, “You told me that what I am does not determine who I am. That I was perfect regardless of what metal I was made of, to which I say that you are perfect, regardless of the fact that you are made of ectoplasm. Are you made of ectoplasm?”

“I don't know.” Cole somberly answered.

“That is fine,” Zane responded, “you will grow and learn to embrace it.”

“...How did you get used to it?” Cole reluctantly asked.

“I thought of you–” Cole blushed at that before Zane continued talking, “–and Jay and Kai and the rest of the ninja. You guys are my family and thinking of my family helps me relax, despite how chaotic you all have the capacity to be. ”

Cole laughed a little as he wiped his tears away. “Thanks Zane.”

“Do not thank me yet for we are not done. You still need to turn on the radio.”

Cole nervously looked at his radio, “What if I can’t do it?”

“What if you can?” Zane asked.

Deciding that he had nothing to lose, Cole slowly got up from the bed and walked to the radio, he tried to turn the dial but was unsurprised when his fingers flowed through the dial. Cole looked back at Zane who nodded his head in encouragement.

“Think of those you care about, your family.” He repeated.

Cole looked at the dial and thought about the ninja. Kai and his fiery temper, he’d fight the whole world to keep any of them safe. Lloyd, their leader who carried the whole world on his back yet would always be there to listen to any of the ninjas’ peoples. Nya, the newest ninja who would do anything to help the ones she cared for. Jay, his best friend in the whole world. The only person Cole ever trusted enough to talk with. And Zane, the one who had always been out of reach, the one who never judged or antagonized, and the one who Cole felt closest to.  
Jay was always going to be the closest to Cole but with Zane, it was different. Zane was someone Cole could spend the whole day with. Zane made Cole feel complete, normal, and relax. Most importantly, Zane made Cole feel like himself more than any of the other ninja. He didn’t fully understand the feelings or why they occurred but Cole knew that Zane meant everything to him. He knew that him and the other ninja were what mattered to him the most.  
Cole’s fingers hovered above the dial and took in a deep breath. He closed his eyes and pictured Zane, his metal skin, his bright blue eyes, everything. Cole let out his breath, lowered his fingers, and felt the smooth cold touch of the dial. He slowly turned the dial and the radio started playing “Ghost Whip” by The Fold.  
Cole beamed with elation at Zane.

“I did it!” Cole exclaimed as he ran over to hug Zane.

Cole tried to hug Zane only to phase right through. He turned around to face Zane with a tomato red face.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get in you.” Cole winced at his words of choice, “Wait, I didn't mean it like that.”

Zane laughed out loud, “I understand your attempts at an expression of appreciation. Do not worry, it is as I said before, it takes time. Would you like to try that hug again?”

Cole nodded and calmed himself. He then walked over and embraced Zane, feeling his warmth and his heartbeat.

“Thank you for helping me Zane. You’re always there for me. When I need you.”

“And I always will be there for you Cole, I promise.”

Cole pulled back and looked into the ice ninja’s bright blue eyes, “And I’ll always be there for you...I promise.

Now

“He’s not dead, maybe he just got the bomb out and threw it at the last second.” Pixal claimed.

She knew that it wasn’t likely but there was no way that Zane just died, not like this. She looked at her engagement ring and then out to the exploding station, he had to be alive down there. The Bounty moved away from the station and yet Pixal felt as if she could still see his face on the train. 

“We have to go back.” Pixal said as she turned to the ninja.

The ninja were too occupied with their own feelings to respond to Pixal. Cole was slowly standing up, filling with anger. Nya was still crying while Jay’s tears had stopped, Lloyd had thrown up but was collecting himself. Skylor was standing next to Pixal, trying to be strong for the rest of the team. Skylor took note of how the team's gi’s were ripped and covered with soot and just otherwise practically unwearable.

“Pixal,” Skylor softly said, “he’s gone.”

“Maybe he downloaded his conscience onto a flash drive, maybe he was able to connect to the internet at the last second.” Pixal kept rattling off scenarios that involved Zane’s survival, not wanting to accept the devastating truth. 

“Pixal.” Skylor said while putting her hand on the samurai’s shoulder, “I’m sorry, but he’s gone and I don’t think he’s coming back.”

Pixal stepped away from Skylor, “We don’t know that.”

Pixal looked up towards the steering wheel and saw Wu navigating. He showed a stoic face while flying but Pixal knew a broken heart when she saw it. Wu didn’t see Zane die but he heard enough on the radio to know what had happened.

“Yes, we do.” Skylor carefully debated.

Pixal looked back to the station, now just a dot with smoke. “No…”

Pixal felt her heart being crushed with guilt. Her plan failed and as a result, they were in this predicament.

“This is all my fault.” Pixal whispered.

“No, it’s not.” Nya said as she finished drying her tears.

Nya stepped away from Jay and she took Pixal’s hand, “This isn’t your fault, Pixal.” 

“You’re right Nya. It’s not Pixal's fault,” Cole announced before pointing at Jay, “it’s his.”

“What?” Jay asked.

“None of this would’ve happened if you had just stayed away from that window.” Cole said while gritting his teeth. “If you’d have just followed the plan we would have gotten everyone out.”

“Cole.” Nya warned.

“No Nya. I’m sorry but it’s true, he got caught because he was too busy looking at some machine.”

“I was looking at that machine to see how important it was.” Jay argued, “I thought that if we could figure out what it was for, we could find out Kane’s plan.”

Cole turned to face Jay, “And because of that, you got Zane killed.”

“No I didn’t!”

“Yes, you did. You got too impulsive, just like you always do!”

“Well what about you? You got us all into this mess in the first place when you let Zane and Lloyd get kidnapped!” Jay exclaimed. 

“Zane told me to leave them behind to make sure that Pixal got out of there. What was your excuse?”

“My excuse? My excuse is that you put us in this situation in the first place. And now that Zane’s dead, you’ll do anything to not take the blame.”

“I’m not avoiding the blame!”

“Yes you are!” Jay shouted, “You’re avoiding it so you can pity yourself!”

“Oh you’re one to talk about pity. All you do is sit around and whine about how everything is your fault and yet the one time it is your fault, you refuse to take responsibility.”

“Pity? I don’t pity myself, that’s all you. You’re the one sitting around constantly denying what you are even when everyone else knows!” Jay fired back.

“All you do is pity yourself! You sit on your ass crying about all your mistakes. You force Nya and I to stop taking care of ourselves to take care of you while you never put any effort in for yourself!”

“Guys, we need to calm down.” Lloyd said, trying to take control of the situation.

“No, Lloyd.” Jay responded, “Cole’s just upset because he doesn’t get to gaze into Zane’s eyes anymore!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cole demanded to know.

“It means that you’re only mad because you lost your little crush.” Jay spat out.

“NO! I’m mad because you cost us a brother.”

“You’re mad because Zane is gone and now you’ll never be able to tell him how you really felt!”

Cole took a step back, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it’s not true.”

Jay crossed his arms, “Oh you think I don’t know about your little crush on Zane? Newsflash Cole, you’re the only one who didn’t see it!”

“There was no crush–”

“There was Cole! There was. And instead of admitting it, you hide like a coward.”

“I’M NOT THE COWARD!” Cole screamed, “ You are! You shutdown every time something bad happens, every single time. Nadakhan, Unagami, any time anyone bothers you a little you collapse onto the ground and become completely useless! It’s like you can’t handle anything bad happening to you!”

“Oh i’m useless? What about when you almost got Zane and Lloyd killed by Kane because she insulted your mom a little?!”

“Don’t you dare talk about her.”

“You almost blew our whole operation because you couldn’t handle any digs at your mom and yet you say I’m too sensitive?” Jay yelled.

“The difference is I didn’t actually get anyone killed!” 

“Well it wasn’t for lack trying!” Jay countered.

“Well at least I failed at killing one of our one, you can’t say the same!” 

“I told you–” Jay started.

“You wanted that machine because all you think about is yourself!”

“That’s not–”

“You think that everything revolves around you! Did you even notice that Nya’s brother’s in jail?! Did you even try to comfort her, or did you just wallow in your own self pity?!”

“No, I–” Jay tried to say.

“No you didn’t! You blame me for not being honest but at least I didn’t get anyone else hurt! I didn’t focus on myself during the mission! I wasn’t being a pathetic coward!! 

“YOU’RE THE ONLY COWARD HERE.” You try and blame me because you can’t accept that you loved Zane. You’re a coward because you still refuse to admit your own sexuality! You’re the pathetic one! You’re the one lashing out. Our brother just died and you chose to turn on me rather than be honest! You chose to divide us for your own goals! You give the ninja a bad name! You give the earth ninja a bad name...your mom would be ashamed of you!”

Jay fell silent, instantly regretting what he had just said. Despite being on the deck of the bounty, it felt as if the air had been sucked out of the room. The rest of the ninja were frozen in shock. Cole tightened his fists, tears rolling down his eyes and Jay felt his own tears of regret forming. After what felt like hours, Cole finally spoke up.

“Mabey, but that doesn’t change the fact that you got Zane killed, just like you did Nya.”

Both men stared at each other, emotional wrecks who regretted hurting each other and themselves. Eventually, Cole walked to the edge of the Bounty and jumped off. He formed his dragon and rocketed away. Everyone turned towards Jay who also started walking to the edge.

Lloyd grabbed Jay’s arm, “Jay, where are you going?”

Jay pulled free of Lloyd's grip and responded, “Anywhere but here.”

With that, Jay stepped off the bounty, formed his dragon, and flew away.

Pixal walked over to her damaged mech and pulled out her personal jetpack. She strapped it on and turned to the rest of the remaining ninja.

“I understand that Zane is most likely deceased, however, I would feel more closure if I knew for sure.”

“I–we understand Pixal.” Lloyd responded, “Go do what you have to do.”

Pixal simply nodded and stood to the edge.

“Wait,” Lloyd called out, “where’s my mom?”

“She is at the medbay recovering from a non-fatal gunshot wound.” Pixal answered before flying off

Lloyd would’ve reacted had he been in a different situation. But now, Zane was gone, Kai was in jail, Cole and Jay were both gone, it morbidly seemed right that something would happen to his mom. Lloyd looked back to the remaining ninja. It was just him, Nya, and Skylor with Wu piloting the ship and his mom recovering in the medbay.

“Well I hate to feel like i’m adding on to the party but I’m going to go tell Kai about Zane. Skylor announced as she walked to Wu to have him drop her off in Ninjago City.

Nya picked up her trident and started walking to the training course until Lloyd called out for her.

“Nya, where are you going?” Lloyd asked.

Nya turned around with anger burning in her eyes, “To train. Cole and Jay both had it wrong when they blamed each other. I had a chance to kill Kane and I didn’t take it and now Zane is dead because of her, because of me. I’m going to make sure that I never make that mistake.”

“Killing won’t bring him back Nya.” Lloyd softly said.

“Killing could’ve saved him.” Nya retorted as she walked away, leaving the green ninja by himself.

Lloyd made his way to the medbay and saw his mom checking her wound. When Misako noticed him, she smiled and gestured for him to come over. Lloyd walked and sat down and was immediately squeezed with his mother’s embrace.

“Lloyd, i’m glad to see that you’re ok. I was so worried about you, they didn’t hurt you right?”

“I’m fine mom. How are you? Pixal dressed your bullet wound right?”

“No, I did that on my own while Pixal was helping you guys get out of the station. How’s Zane, do Jay and Pixal need any help with diagnostics?”

Lloyd winced, something that his mother picked up on.

“Lloyd what’s the matter? What happened?”

Lloyd took a breath before speaking, “Zane’s gone mom.”

“What?”

“They set off his bomb and he threw himself off of the train to save us.” Lloyd elaborated with a monotone voice.

“Lloyd, i’m so sorry.” Misako said while wiping a tear away, “Where are the other ninja?”

“They all left, they’re doing their own things.”

“What about Pixal, Wu, and Skylor?”

“Pixal didn’t want to believe that Zane is...dead, so she went to look for a body. Skylor went to tell Kai about Zane. Wu is flying the ship since it can’t do autopilot so it’s just me.”

“And me.” Misako offered.

Lloyd shook his head, “No mom, you’re injured. The ninja will be back, they just need time to recover.”

Misako remained resolved however, “I don’t like you being by yourself right now. I want to help”

“You cannot hope to help others if you’re injured as well.” Lloyd said, “That’s one of the last things that Zane told me and I need you to please just get better.”

Lloyd got up when Misako grabbed his arm.

“Lloyd, just promise me that you won’t let yourself drown in all of this, it’s not healthy.”

Lloyd nodded at his mom, “I promise.”

Misako reluctantly let go and Lloyd walked out of the medbay. He walked to the Bounty’s kitchen and started looking through the drawers. Soon he found it, an adult sized hot pink apron. With trembling hands, Lloyd grabbed it, trying to not let the tears fall onto the apron. Lloyd rubbed his fingers along the fabric as he took in the situation. Lloyd brought the apron up to his nose and took in the scent. The apron smelled of circuits, a favored brand of laundry detergent, it smelled clean, it smelled of oil. It smelled like Zane.  
Lloyd finally broke down, crying into the apron. Zane was dead, gone, and he was never coming back. The ninja were gone, his mom was shot, Kane and Zhang were lost in Ninjago, and Lloyd was all alone. As such, Lloyd cried on the kitchen floor alone, with no one to help him.

Pixal landed at the entrance of the blown out tunnels right next to the derailed train. She scanned the area for any signs of life, there was nothing. She scanned the tunnel itself and found that the structures were stable. Preparing for the worst, Pixal turned on her night vision and headed inside the dark tunnel. The air smelled of wiring and burnt metal. As Pixal ventured deeper into the tunnel, she started to see soot along the walls and tracks as the smell grew stronger. Pixal saw a metal shard buried under the ruble and dug it out to find a red katana. It had chips along the top of the blade and cracks embedded in it. Pixal figured that it might be salvageable and took it, then she kept walking until she found the epicenter of the bomb definition. She scanned until she found him, or what was left of him.  
Zane had been blown to pieces. His head was almost split in half with the inside of his head being corroded with battery acid. Pixal tried to look for the CPU only to find it completely fried. His jaw had been torn completely off and his eyes were shattered. One arm was blown completely off the body and was shattered against the wall while the other one appeared sliced off. The chest itself was shredded outwards, most likely due to the bomb turning Zane’s insides into shrapnel. The lower part of his body had been blown off. Pixal found them about fifty feet away with the right leg bent the opposite way and the left leg being flatted from the knee down.  
Pixal sat down and let the full weight of the situation hit her. Zane was dead. Her confidant, her future husband, and best friend was gone. She sat crying for an indefinite amount of time. Pixal sat up and started collecting the pieces of Zane that she could. She pulled him together in a pile and started trying it all together. When the remains of Zane were tied together, Pixal made her way out the tunnel. She reached the end of the tunnel and walked over to her jetpack. She attached Zane’s remains to the jetpack and programmed it to return to the Bounty.  
As the jetpack took off Pixal started walking. She didn’t know what to wear, but she just had to get away from this place. Pixal put one foot in front in front of the other and started walking. 

Skylor climbed off the bounty and called an uber. The Bounty had landed at the monastery so the uber would take awhile to pick her up.  
Skylor watched as Nya climbed down from the Bounty and immediately started training. Skylor walked up to Nya to check on her.

“Hey Nya, how are you holding up?” Skylor asked.

Nya threw her trident into the target and walked over to pick it up, not responding to Skylor.

“Nya, please talk to me.” Skylor pleaded.

“What’s there to talk about? Zane’s dead and it’s my fault.” Nya harshly responded.

Skylor thought back to when Skylor told Nya not to kill Kane. Nya had to have realized that her hesitation didn’t cause Zane to die.

“It wasn’t your fault. Kane made the choice to kill Zane, not you.” Skylor insisted.

“Yeah?” Nya challenged, “Well if I had killed Kane, Zane would still be alive. I should’ve never listened to you.” Nya muttered as she practiced her form.

“Wait, you’re not blaming me right?” Skylor asked, “I still think that you shouldn’t have blindly killed her.”

“No, i’m blaming myself for hesitating when I should have struck.” Nya accompanied the last word of her statement with her swinging her trident into the dummy. 

“Well you can think whatever you want, it doesn't change the fact that you’re not guilty.”

“Well you can think whatever you want,” Nya responded, “it doesn't change the fact that I am guilty.”

Skylor shook her head, “Well clearly, we aren’t going to reach an agreement.”

“Not, we’re not.” Nya confirmed.

“Fine, I can’t stop you from torturing yourself, but know that I'm here if you ever need to talk.” Skylor offered.

“What I need is the strength to be able to kill Zhang and Kane.”

“It won’t bring him back.”  
Nya dropped her trident and turned to face Skylor, “I told you before that I wanted to kill the bad guys to stop them from hurting the people I love. You got personally offended and told me that that wasn’t the way to do things. If I had just listened to myself, Zane would still be alive. Now please just...I don’t want to talk about him.”

“Ok.” Skylor responded.

Skylor started walking away before calling out to Nya again, “Nya.”

“What?” Nya responded, clearly frustrated.

“I’m going to go talk to Kai later, I think it might make him feel better if you came.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Nya waved her hands around gesturing to the Monastery, Bounty, and Samurai mech, “Because everything is screwed up.”

“I know that, I just think that you should visit Kai at some point.”

“I will, just not now.” Nya said not so convincingly.

“You know, if you were in jail, Kai wouldn’t write you off so quickly.” Skylor said as she walked off.

Nya briefly debated firing a comment back at Skylor before deciding not to in favor of continuing her training.

Skylor walked away from Nya and looked at the damaged bouncy and samurai. She pulled out her phone, and dialed up a certain technological genius.

“Skylor, my favorite food vendor.” Cyrus Borg answered, “What can I do for you? Did the order not go through?”

“No it did Cyrus, I just need a favor. The samurai mech and Bounty have both been damaged–”

“And you want me to fix them?” Borg finished Skylor’s sentence. 

“Yes. I’ll cater to your company for free all next month if you do this.” Skylor offered.

“Deal.” Borg agreed, “My workers will be pleased to know that they’re getting free lunch for the month. Where is the Bounty and Mech?”

“One other thing.” Skylor said as she remembered the teams’ ripped gi’s, “the ninja’s suits have been badly damaged.”

“Oh, what happened?”

Skylor hesitated, she didn’t think that she had the right to notify Borg of Zane’s death but he was going to find out sooner or later. Skylor hoped she made the right decision and responded.

“There...there was an accident during a mission. Zane didn’t make it.”

“What? But that's impossible, I...i’m so sorry...I’ll do it for free.”

“No Cyrus, we had a deal.” Skylor contested.

“Well i’m changing my mind. Tell the ninja that i’ll be there later to fix the mech and Bounty, and i’ll have outfits ready within the next few days.”

“Thanks.”

“And skylor? Tell the ninja that i’m sorry.”

Skylor heard Cyrus hang up and checked the time for her uber, she still had enough time to talk to someone. Skylor turned around and climbed aboard the Bounty and contemplated who to tell. She didn’t want to bother Misako who was still dealing with her bullet wound so that left Wu and Lloyd. Skylor saw that Wu was still at the wheel despite the fact that they had landed about fifteen minutes ago. Did anyone even check up on Wu? Skylor doubted it. She climbed the stairs and headed to the steering wheel. Wu didn’t even turn around as he started talking to her.  
“There’s a special bond between a sensei and his student. A master and their student will often spend more of their life together then not. To spend all of this time watching your student grow and blossom, it’s hard not to develop attachment. I’ve never had kids in the traditional sense but I consider all of my students my children, my family. The ninja, my nephew, even Morro are my sons and daughters.” 

Wu finally turned around and starred at Skylor, eyes full of sadness, “What brings you aboard Skylor?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to see if you were ok.”

Wu looked Skylor in the eyes, “Ok? My student, my son, is dead. No, i’m not ok.”

Skylor looked down at the floor, “I can stay with you.” She offered.

“You’re needed elsewhere Skylor. Kai still needs to know and I'd prefer if you told him rather than finding out when everyone else does.”

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes.” Wu confirmed.

“Ok. By the way, Cyrus Borg is coming to repair the Bounty, free of charge.”

Wu nodded and Skylor turned around when she heard something impact the deck of the Bounty. Wu and Skylor both hopped down and checked out the site of impact only to find Pixal’s jetpack, but no Pixal. Both people checked the jetpack to find a heavily damaged robot body.

“Oh god.” Skylor whispered as she covered her mouth.

“Zane.” Wu gravely whispered. 

The remains of the ice ninja stared back at them almost as if it were mocking them. Skylor heard flapping above her and looked up to find that certain bird friends were coming down to land.

“Falcon.” Wu said.

The falcon descended and landed on Zane’s body. He gently poked at the ice ninja’s dead eyes and called out in despair.

“I know old, friend.” Wu responded as he offered his arm, “I miss him too.”

The falcon hopped on Wu’s arm and let out another caw. Skylor heard her phone ringing and recognized the number as her uber driver.

“You should go.” Wu stated, “Don’t worry, Skylor, i’ll take care of Zane’s remains and i’ll take care of Borg.”

“I’ll be as soon as I can.” Skylor responded as she ran and jumped off the bounty.

Skylor landed right behind the car and got in.

“You’re Skylor right?” The uber driver asked.

“Yeah.”

“And you’re going to the prison right?” 

“Yeah.” Skylor confirmed.

The driver started driving to the prison as Skylor focused on the music, trying not to feel crushed by the recent events. Eventually the music ended and a news report came on talking about Kai’s pre-trial tomorrow. The driver turned the music to a different station and spoke to Skylor.

“Sorry, I just didn’t like hearing that stuff about him.”

“No, it’s fine.” Skylor responded, “Honestly I feel the same way. It’s shocking what happened with him.”

“Tell me about it. Ya know, he was my daughter’s favorite. Last year, for her fifth birthday, we got her a red gi just like the fire ninja’s.”

“I bet she’s feeling pretty sad about what’s happening now.” Skylor guessed.

“She’s heartbroken about it and convinced that some ‘villainous threat’ is trying to throw him in jail. But she doesn’t understand why or what they’re accusing him of.” 

Skylor hesitated before asking, “What do you think of it?”

“I believe in innocence until proven guilty. My wife thinks that if he did sell drugs that there must have been some reason. My mom thinks he is completely guilty.”

“Yeah, it’s been divisive.” Skylor commented, “I’m just glad that not everyone is immediately just writing him off.”

“Yeah, if it’s true what they say then he shouldn’t have done what he did. Thing is, the world isn’t black and white so we don't know why he did it, assuming that he did do it of course.”

“Yeah…” Skylor answered.

Having said his part, the driver remained quiet and Skylor decided to call her employee Tina to see how her business was doing. She dialed the number and waited.

“What is it boss?”

“Tina, how’s everything going? 

“Same as usual boss, the other workers are competent enough to not mess up. The rushes are the same as usual. We’re running a tight ship here boss.”

“Tina, you’re a lifesaver.”

“I know. It’s all part of the job boss.”

“I need you to continue holding the ship down for the next few days. I don’t know when I'll be back but I'll compensate your pay when I get back.”

“Don’t worry boss, while i’m in charge, nothing is going to happen to your restaurant.”

“Thanks Tina, i’ll talk to you later.”

Skylor ended the phone call, sat back in her seat and sat with her eyes closed. She felt stress over the coming conversation with Kai and held back her tears. Fifteen minutes later, the uber dropped Skylor off at the prison. 

“Would you like me to stay and drive you home after this?” The driver asked.

“N–Actually yes. Could you drive me back to the Monastery after this, I won’t be long.

“Yeah but i’m charging for staying here.”

“Fine.”

With that, Skylor walked into the prison with butterflies in her stomach and requested a visit with Kai. She walked into the visitor room and sat down at a chair, barely keeping calm. He sat down with a few cuts and picked up the phone.

“Who cut you?” Skylor asked.

“Some wannabe rapists. Don’t worry, I fucked them up.” He responded.

Skylor broke at that. Kai was already dealing with being in prison by himself, she didn't want to tell him that he was never going to see a brother again. She started silently weeping tears, much to the fire ninja’s concern. 

“Skylor what’s wrong?”

Skylor tried to collect herself and Kai’s concern turned to fear.

“Skylor, you’re scaring me.”

Skylor took some deep breaths as Kai asked the question he didn’t want to.

“Skylor,” He said slowly and cautiously, “what happened.”

Skylor finally started speaking, “We went to go rescue Lloyd and Zane, but there was an accident. The plan went sideways and Zane....he....he’s gone.”

“What?!” Kai harshly questioned, “That’s not possible. He has to be alive!”

“Kai, he’s gone. We found his remains, he’s not coming back.”

“He can’t be gone, he can’t....What happened!” 

“Kai, you’ve got to calm down.” 

“How the fuck am I supposed to calm down?! My brother is dead,” Kai screamed.

The guards behind him walked over and grabbed Kai.

“Let me go you fucks!” Kai shouted as they took him away.

One guard stayed behind to address Skylor.

“What the hell was that for?” Skylor demanded to know.

“Sorry ma’am, but we’re under strict orders to take him straight to his cell if he seems compromised in any way, even emotionally.”

“So you lock him up alone because he’s upset over losing his brother?”

“Ma’am, he's a highly trained pyrokinetic who could honestly burn down this whole place if he wanted to. Yeah we have vengestone, but that doesn’t do much to comfort anyone. So now I am going to have to ask you to leave.”

“I already was you dick.” Skylor responded as she got up.

Skylor walked outside and got back into the uber car. The driver saw that she was pissed and wordlessly took off towards the Monastery. 

“Not the best day is it?” The driver offered.

Skylor slouched in her seat as she thought about the situation as a whole. The ninja were split, Jay and Cole were both pissed off and missing, Nya had bloodlust, Kai was in jail, Wu was lost, Misako was injured, Pixal was missing and probably not in the right mind space, Kane and Zhang were both missing and probably working towards their goals, and now Zane was dead. Skylor wonders how things could've gone so bad so quickly.

“No,” Skylor answered, “It’s not a good day at all.”

Skylor wiped her eyes with her sleeves as the car drove to the monastery.

Kai was thrown back into his cell. He hit the floor and stayed there fuming in his anger. He couldn’t believe it, Zane couldn’t be gone, he was probably just in another realm or in the internet building another body. But no, Kane had told them that Zane was cut off from the internet, he was stuck in that body. Besides, Skylor had said that she found Zane’s remains. It was true wasn’t it? Zane was gone and there was nothing Kai could do about it.  
The next day, Kai sat down in the cafeteria with his food. He tried to focus on his food, stirring his process of eating itself, anything to avoid having to think about Zane. He didn’t want to think of Zane, which of course meant that the ice ninja was all Kai could think about.  
Kai thought about how differently things might have been had he been with the ninja. If he hadn’t been locked up, he could have made sure that they all got out ok. Now Zane was dead and Kai couldn’t help but wonder if this was some form of punishment for Kai’s actions. Would Zane still be alive if Kai had never sold drugs and be placed in jail as a result?  
Kai focused on eating his soup and didn’t even notice when another prisoner with dark brown skin, small brown eyes, and matted black straight hair.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Dick jokes.

Kai kept looking down at his bowl and stirring his soup.

“Hey man, are you ok?”

“Why are you here?” Kai asked.

Dick was caught a little off guard, “What do you mean?”

“Why are you here eating with me? We’re not friends.”

“I know that, Jesus Christ, I'm just trying to sit down with the one person who shows me some decency in this place.”

Kai starred back at Dick, “Well I just want to be alone so fuck off please.”

Dick wordless left Kai alone with his thoughts and food.

Three hours later, Kai was in front of the judge. He was supposed to be paying attention but the day flew by as he could only think of Zane. 

“Mr. Smith,” the judge called, “are you paying attention?”

Kai mentally shook himself out of his thoughts, “Yes, sorry.” 

“If this trial is bothering you, we can just skip to the sentencing, Mr. Smith.”

“No no, that won’t be necessary.” Kai insisted.

The judge huffed in annoyance before continuing, “Mr. Smith are you aware that most of the families of your clients who have come forward claim to have been negatively affected by the crimes that you are being accused of committing?”

Kai slowly nodded his head, “Yes your honor.”

“Are you aware that most of your clients are dead?” the judge asked.

Kai blinked in confusion, “What?”

“From what we gather, about thirteen of your clients have been deceased since your interactions with them, nine of which have been directly linked to death by drug use.”

“No...no I didn’t know that.” Kai answered.

“Well, luckily for you we can’t pinpoint any death specifically on you so I am charging you for the crimes of drug possession and distribution. Your trial will begin in one week, with bail set at $30,000. Dismissed.”

The court session ended and Kai was escorted out of the building only to face a sea of news reporters. Kai heard what seemed like thousands of people calling his name in either anger or pity. One woman managed to break through the crowds and slapped the fire ninja in the face.

“You got my brother addicted to you bitch!” The woman yelled as she was pulled away by a few cops.

“He’s dead because of you!” was all Kai could hear before he was forced into the backseat of the police car.

Kai wanted to throw up, he knew that some of these people were falsifying their claims but if even a quarter of these people were hurt by his actions...Kai suddenly had the realization that his actions had affected a lot more people than he realized. How many people did he hurt by only thinking about himself and Nya? Kai thought about all the families and friends that might be involved in each of his former clients’ lives and became fearful of how big the number was.  
The police started driving away, being careful not to hit any of the citizens. The cops turned on the radio to interrupt the silence and an interview on the Kennedy Kurrent show came on.

“Welcome back folks, it’s good to see you, even if it is a time of scandal for our recent guest, Kai Smith.” Kurrent said over the radio, “Yes folks, you’ve heard me right. Kai Smith, the fire ninja, has been arrested on charges of drug possession and distributions. I guess we should have been asking him about his criminal life instead of his love life huh? It doesn’t matter anymore folks, what does matter is the truth! And here to speak her truth is our special guest, Sheliza Lot, who claims that the actions of our ‘beloved’ fire ninja directly resulted in her two kids’ deaths. Ms. Lot, would you care to explain your story?”

“Of course Mr. Kurrent.” a broken female voice responded, “While I was in jail, my husband left without my knowledge. He left my two kids, Joshua and Sue alone. They were only thirteen and three at the time.”

Kai felt the void in his stomach grow as he recognized Joshua Lot as one of his last clients, but Kai didn’t know that he had a younger sister nor did he know what happened to Joshua.. He listened as the woman continued her story.

“Joshua started buying from the fire ninja and got addicted to drugs. When I got back from jail I returned home and found him dead from an overdose.” Ms. Lot started crying before continuing her story, “He was feeding his sister, Sue, but when he died, she nearly starved to death. I still remember seeing them both, him dead and her just skin and bones.” 

With that, the woman started crying and Kai threw up in the back of the police car. The police complained and shut off the radio to make sure that Kai didn’t have anymore emotionally induced reactions.  
Kai returned to the prison where he was once again escorted to his cell. The second the guards left, Kai collapsed onto the ground, trying not to hyperventilate. What had he done? All those people’s lives he ruined and helped end and for what, so him and Nya could eat three meals a day instead of two or one? It wasn’t worth it Kai decided, it wasn’t worth the people he hurt. He had built his and Nya’s childhood on the souls of other innocent people.  
And what about Joshua? He was left alone and forced to take care of his sister earlier, just like Kai was with Nya. What made them so different? What made it ok for Kai to help condemn Joshua and his sister to death so that he and Nya could live? Kai, at the very least, was glad that the sister survived. He thought about how easily the sister could’ve died had their mom not returned when she did. What if their positions had been switched? What if Kai had overdosed and left Nya alone? No one would have come for her, no one would’ve rescued her. Kai ran to the toilet and threw up at the thought of what might have happened to Nya had their roles been switched.  
Kai finally broke down crying over the toilet. He got people hurt and killed, he did exactly the opposite of what ninja are supposed to do. He was the villain of his own story, and because of his actions, he was never there to help save Zane. Kai was no hero, he was no ninja. He was just a drug dealer pretending to be a good person. What would Zane think of him?  
The other prisoners had caught wind of Kai’s emotionally vulnerable state and started making fun of him as well as teasing him but he didn’t care. He knew that showing emotion here was a death sentence but he didn’t even consider himself different from the other prisoners at the moment. He felt like he was no better than them.  
Kai sat in his bed and dried his tears. Then he laid down to a sleepless night.

In the morning, Kai stared wide awake at the light that flowed through the small barred window of the cell. Kai was interrupted by his self loathing by two guards.

“Get up, your bail’s been paid.” the first guard said

“What? What do you mean it’s been paid?” Kai asked.

“We got money and it was for your bail.” The second guard responded in a sarcastically slow voice, “That means that you’re free to go, you know what ‘free’ means right?”

“Fuck off.” Kai muttered as the two guards escorted him out of the cell.

After being cleared, Kai was given his possessions and was led outside the prison. Outside was Skylor, awaiting him with an Uber waiting for him. The first guard took off Kai’s hand cuffs and spoke to Kai.

“I uh–I overheard what your girlfriend said about your brother. I get what it’s like to lose family and i’m sorry you have to go through it.” 

Kai nodded while rubbing his irritated wrists. He then left and walked to Skylor who embraced him in a hug.

“Are you ok? I saw the pre-trial yesterday and it looked rough.” 

Kai didn’t respond and instead asked, “Did you pay my bail?”

Skylor sadly smiled, “Not all of it. It turns out that there are still people out there who support you. The donation goal of the Gofundme page for your bail was met within five hours after being posted.”

Kai shook his head, “I don’t know how they still have faith in me. I’m the fucking villain of my own story. I don’t know how you can still even look me in the eyes.”

Skylor pulled him closer, “Because you’re the same man I fell in love with. The same person who convinced me that I was more than my father’s daughter. You never lost faith in me and I'll never lose faith in you.”

Skylor pulled away from Kai and gestured to the car, “Come on, we need to get back to the Bounty.”

“How’s everyone else doing?”

Skylor shook her head, “Not good, and whether you want to admit it not, we need your help pulling everyone back together.”

Kai hesitated, “I don’t know…”

Skylor held Kai’s hand, “The ninja are separated and Kane and Zhang are still out there. The only way we beat them is together.”

“Fine, let’s go.” Kai said as he climbed into the car.

Lloyd stood outside of Wu’s door. He felt lost and needed his uncle for guidance. Lloyd entered the room and found Wu looking at a picture of Zane. When Wu noticed Lloyd’s presence, he quickly put the picture back and turned back to the green ninja. He put on a face of neutrality but couldn’t mask his grief.

“What can I do for you Lloyd?” 

Lloyd suddenly felt guilt. He had been so busy focusing on himself that he didn’t even consider his uncle’s feelings.” 

“You don’t have to hide that picture from me.” Lloyd said. 

“I was merely reminiscing on happier times.” Wu responded.

“You know, Kai caught me doing the same thing with a photo of my father last week.” 

Wu stroked his beard, “Is that so?”

“Yes, I didn’t know why I hid it at the time but now I realize that sometimes us leaders don’t get to be sad or grieve. The fault of people like us is that we feel shame about our own feelings when we put it on ourselves to burden other people’s challenges.”

“Hmm, you’ve gotten wiser Lloyd.” Wu noted.

“Yeah, well a brother recently told me that I try to hold the weight of the world on my back. I think that we are both trying to take Atlas’ spot, like an uncle like a nephew.” Lloyd finished.

Wu nodded his head, “Indeed.”

Lloyd and Wu both heard the gates of the Monastery open and headed out to investigate. At first, they thought it might be Cyrus Borg but the sound was coming from They checked out the lounge room and found Skylor with a roughed up looking Kai.

“Kai!” Lloyd exclaimed as he ran to hug the fire ninja, “I missed you so much.”

“Hey short stuff,” Kai somberly responded as he pulled Lloyd in closer, “i’m sorry that I couldn’t help rescue you.”

Lloyd looked up to Kai, “You were in jail. You couldn’t have done anything if you wanted to.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that I should’ve been there.” Kai responded as he pulled away from Lloyd. 

Kai then turned to face Wu and hung his head low in shame.

“Kai, I cannot begin to explain how disappointed I am in you.” Wu said, “however, as someone who helped create Lord Garmadon and Asphera, I understand making past mistakes that come back to haunt you. You have a long path of redemption ahead of you, but you are still one of us.”

“I don’t feel that way.” Kai responded as he looked up, “Where's everyone else?”

“Jay and Cole fought each other and ran off, probably to their homes if I knew them.” Skylor answered, “Pixal sent us Zane’s remains and then walked off on her own, she’s not answering our calls at all and she disabled her tracking system. Misako got shot and is recovering in the medbay.”

“Fuck. What about Nya?” Kai asked.

“Nya went to stop some taskmasters from robbing a bank.” Lloyd responded, “I tried to go with her but she insisted on doing it on her own.”

“Well we have to reunite the ninja.” Skylor said, “We can’t stop Kane without each other.”

“How the fuck are we supposed to do that?” Kai asked, “Zane’s dead, it sounds like everyone hates each other, I’ve got a week before I go back on trial, it looks like the Bounty is broken, and Kane said that she’s closer to finishing her plans. How are we supposed to win?”

“We win by working together,” Lloyd responded, “we win by being untied. No one has ever beat us because they don’t have what we have, each other.”

“Lloyd’s right.” Skylor responded, “You guys can win if you work together.”

Kai shook his head in disbelief before responding, “Ok...ok I trust you Lloyd, so what do we do?”

“First, we have to bring the ninja back together.” Lloyd responded.

“Let’s get Nya first,” Kai suggested, “she’ll probably need help dealing with the taskmasters. Then, we go after Cole and Jay.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Skylor agreed.

“I will stay here and help Misako and Borg recover and fix the Bounty.” Wu added.

“We’ll be back uncle.” Lloyd said as he, Kai, and Skylor walked outside.

Kai and Lloyd formed their dragons while Skylor climbed onto the back of Kai’s dragon.

“Ready?” Lloyd asked.

“Hell yeah,” Kai responded, “let’s go reunite the ninja.”

With that, the two dragons took off into the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, now get your pitchforks ready because next chapter starts with Kane and Zhang and looks at the events through their perspective. Sorry if it was a little too angsty. Next chapter will be angsty with a mix of hope. Any complaints or thoughts about the story? I haven't asked in a while and just wanted to see if any of you felt that certain aspects of the story could be improved. See you guys next week.


	12. Reconcilable differences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja work to unite and see past their problems. Meanwhile, Kane finally reveals how she is going to destroy fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the story is starting to head to its climax. this one is a little on the short side but still has important moments. I have a question for future stuff, have you guys watched season 13 yet? Enjoy.

Zhang carried another box of salvaged supplies into his base at the squalors. It was their new, and admittedly obvious, base. He had sent a group of taskmasters to see if there was any salvageable equipment at the now compromised station. As expected, very little survived the blast and now they were scarce on everything they needed. At least they had the Fate Killer, but now they were in more danger than ever. The ninja would be coming for them sooner or later. Right now, they would be wearing their bleeding hearts on their sleeves and would be mourning the death of one of their own. But after that, they would be coming for Kane and himself with a righteous fury. And with the shape that he and his men were in, the only way they could take on the ninja was to resupply themselves and dig in their heels. Zhang knew where to get the weapons but if the ninja decided to attack before then would finish the taskmasters off.  
Zhang got a report on the total count of his men. Four were missing, seven were dead, Eleven were injured in some form, and he had around twenty five doing fine. Zhang didn’t like those odds, the samurai and the green ninja alone took out ten of his men alone, the full team of ninja would steam roll the taskmasters. Zhang decided to check up on Kane to distract himself from his thoughts.

Kane folded her hands across her face as she let a few tears drop. The computer she starred in displayed a picture and biography of Zane Julien. She read of his trial, his achievements, and his new engagement to Pixal. The news of Zane’s death hadn’t hit public news yet but it was still all too real to Kane. She thought of the possible life that Zane could’ve lived. He would’ve gotten married, maybe at some point they would’ve gotten a house. Maybe at some point he and Pixal could’ve had kids, or made robotic clones that were an amalgamation of each of them? The details weren’t the point, the point was that Zane could’ve had that life, the life Kane herself so desperately wanted to return to. But it wasn’t fair, she willingly took that potential future from him, why should she get her happy ending?  
She killed someone. She took a life and there was no way of coming back from that. Kane thought that she could do this without becoming the villain but maybe that’s what she was after all.

“Looking at pictures of him won’t help,” Zhang said as he leaned against the door, “and neither will torturing yourself over some possible future.” 

Kane looked a little surprised, “how did you know I was thinking that?”

Zhang uncrossed his arms and shrugged, “Despite what you may think of me, I wasn’t always a killer. I remember my first kill. It was self defense, him or me and yet, I couldn't help but wonder what his life would’ve been like if I hadn't ended it. It doesn’t help, it eats you alive.”

Kane chuckled a little, “Well that’s ironic coming from you, you don’t seem to have any problem killing anyone.”

“And you don’t? Let me tell you something Kane. Killing can quickly become one of the easiest things to do. What’s taking one more life going to do when you’ve already taken another, or two, or three?”

Kane looked at Zhang with disgust, “You’re sick.”

Zhang rolled his eyes, “I didn’t mean it literally, I was trying to say that for better or worse, killing gets easier the more you do it. But you never forget your first kill.”

“...Does it get easier to live with?”

“It gets tolerable. But as much as it sucks, it’s a necessary evil sometimes.”

“Was it necessary?” Kane pondered.

Zhang shrugged, “Had you not blown that bomb, the ninja would’ve caught all of us. I wasn’t lying when I said that the ice ninja needed to die to save your family.”

Kane was silent for a few moments before changing the subjects, “What do you want?” 

“To know what the plan is. The ninja are broken right now but I have a hunch that they’ll come for us sooner or later, whether it’s out of heroism or vengeance.”

Kane sighed, “I guess it’s time to show you my final plan. Do you remember how fate works?”

“It always seeks balance, is made of Dark matter. Inverted Dark Matter can negate its effects and cancel out fate. Fate will set up conflicts but lets good and evil fight to see which side will win. Anything else?”

“No, one thing I haven’t told you yet is that Dark Matter is a finite supply, It is possible to use it up.”

“Ok…”

“Trust me, it’s important.” Kane insisted, “Anyways, the Fate Killer is a time machine. It’ll open up a temporal rift and allows us to travel through time without the need of time blades.”

Zhang looked confused, “How does that even work?”

“Dark matter exists throughout time, The Fate Killer scans for a desired time period and uses IDM to forcibly open up a rift.”

“How?”

“Think about Inverted dark matter and regular dark matter like magnets. They repel each other which leads to fate being canceled out. I’m going to use the Fate Killer to shoot a blast of concentrated IDM into two specific time periods. This will force the Dark matter to open up and form a rift.”

“That makes no sense.” Zhang pointed out.

Kane rolled her eyes, “There are whole classes at NCU dedicated just to teaching the relationship between astrophysics and time, thrown in inverted dark matter and you have about three months of learning to do before you understand it. Do you want to waste that time or just take my word for it?” 

Zhang sighed in annoyance, “Fine, go on.”

“We’re going to open up a rift and create a time paradox, a problem that contradicts itself.”

“How so?” Zhang asked.

“We’re going to go back in time to the day that the green ninja was conceived and the day of the battle between the green ninja and the overlord. We’re going to stop Lloyd from being created by killing his mom. And here’s the most important thing about the Fate Killer, it can only be powered by pure energy. And the only person who can wield pure energy is the green ninja.”

Zhang’s eyes widened as it clicked for him. “So if we kill the green ninja’s mother then there’s no way that he could’ve powered the Fate Killer to allow us to go back in time. But if the mother isn’t killed, then he’ll be able to power the Fate Killer and allow us to go and kill his mom. It’s the grandfather paradox. But how will that kill off fate? And why do we need to go back to the battle of the green ninja and the overlord?”

“We are going to the battle to make sure that the green ninja loses. This will deepen the conflicting nature of the paradox. How can Lloyd lose the battle between good and evil, not be born, and survive to be able to power the Fate Killer all in the same timeline? He can’t.  
Now, like I said before, Dark matter will plan out life for everyone as it sets up another conflict of good and evil. But it can't do this if there are conflicting events that are playing out.”

“Wait, why wouldn’t fate just fix the timeline?” Zhang asked, “And wouldn’t it be possible for Lloyd to lose the battle and then survive long enough to power the Fate Killer?”

Kane sighed, “Fate isn’t the same as time. It runs parallel with it but doesn’t control time. Once an event happens, Fate can’t just go back in time and ‘fix’ it. If it did, I wouldn’t be able to create ways to disable fate. And in regards to Lloyd’s battle and the Fate Killer. The Battle with the overlord and him Powering the Fate Killer are around tens years apart from each other, a gap that big combined with him losing the battle could result in a timeline way different than ours. So yes, it technically is possible for both events to happen, but it’s extremely unlikely.”

“Ok, but how does creating a paradox destroy fate?”

“Because the paradox creates three contradicting scenarios, time will make three different timelines in order to separate these realities. One timeline where Lloyd powered the Fate Killer, one where Lloyd is never born, and one where he loses the battle with the overlord. Remember how I said that there was a limited amount of Dark Matter?”

Zhang silently nodded his head.

“Well, i’ve done the tests and there’s only enough Dark Matter for one timeline.” Kane explained, “If these different realities are created, then Dark matter will overstrain itself trying to establish fate in all three timelines. And if Dark matter is stretched too far...”

“It’ll snap like a rubber band.” Zhang guessed.

Kane nodded her head, “And that’s how we’ll destroy fate. We’ll force it to stretch so far that it’ll break apart and become permanently inert.”

Zhang took a second to process Kane's plan before asking, “What happened to the other timelines?”

“Most likely, they’ll collapse.”

“Ok, and how are we supposed to kill the green ninja’s mother without fate stopping us? I get that the battle between the green ninja and the overlord will drive away fate itself, but it won’t do that for Lloyd’s mother”

“I have IDM injection shots that will temporarily make its users fateless, like me, they won’t be controlled by fate”

“And Dark Matter won’t heal itself?” Zhang asked.

“It can’t, it’s only semi-sentient.” Kane responded.

“Ok. So we need the green ninja to come here and power up the Fate Killer,” Zhang deduced, “It’d look least suspicious if we got “tracked” back to here. I’ll get the ninja here and you make sure the Fate Killer is ready.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Kane said as she walked to the end of the room.

“And Kane…” Zhang waited for Kane to turn around before continuing, “If we do this, we save your family and the squalors. And Zane’s death won’t be in vain.”

Kane looked down and then exited the building. Zhang pulled out his phone and quickly checked the news, noting that tomorrow was the Fire ninja’s pre-trial. He then dialed up Briggs, who was still at the abandoned station.

“What’s the word sir?” Briggs asked.

“I need you to go to all of our contacts and get all the weapons and supplies you can as quickly as you can.” Zhang said.

“No problem sir. I’ll take ten taskmasters with me to secure the supplies.”

“One more thing. I know that these contacts have never done us wrong but we need those supplies.” Zhang added, “So don’t be afraid to use lethal force if necessary.”

“You got it sir.” Briggs said before she hung up the phone.

Now, all that Zhang had to do was sit and wait. The next day passed and Zhang was watching coverage of Kai’s pre-trial. He winced when the one woman attacked the fire ninja and felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. Zhang recognized the contact as Briggs and answered it.

“We’re about two hours away sir.” Briggs notified.

“Perfect. How’d our allies react?”

“...We don’t have anymore allies sir.”

Zhang silently cursed in his head, “Fine, just get back here.”

“As I said sir,” Briggs responded, “two hours.”

Zhang hung up his phone and went to prep a squad of taskmasters to rob some random bank. After the battle at the train station a taskmaster was revealed to have had a tracker inside of him, explaining how the ninja found the base in the first place. Zhang was willing to bet that they try the same trick. But first, the ninja would have to stop the “robbery”. The squad was prepared and shipped out to set the trap and Zhang stayed back to help Briggs unload when she showed up.  
The next day came and the squad’s absence had convinced Zhang that they were in trouble. Even if it cost him the plan, Zhang wasn’t going to just abandon his men. 

“Sir, let me go with you.” Briggs pleaded.

“No.” Zhang answered as he grabbed a flashbang grenade, “If I go alone, it will lull the ninja into a false sense of security.”

“But sir–”

“I said no.” Zhang firmly stated.

Briggs collected her before speaking, “I'm not doubting you sir. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

Zhang nodded his head, “I know, i’ll be fine.”

Zhang left his building, got into his car, and drove out to what was almost certainly a trap. He turned on a radio to find out that the fire ninja had gotten out on paid bail earlier. Zhang cursed to himself, that was one more ninja that could undermine him and Kane’s plans. He pulled out his taskmaster tracking system and located all four taskmasters. They were in an alley and weren’t moving, they’re most likely tied up, Zhang guessed.  
When Zhang pulled up to the location he pulled out his Desert Eagle pistol and a regular katana. The red katana had been lost during the battle at the subway and Zhang had no idea where his favorite blade was, so he had to style for a regular katana. He quietly and cautiously approached the alley and found his men tied up next to a sewer grate. Zhang showed the taskmasters his flashbang grenade and they nodded in agreement. He wordlessly started untying them when a large wave of water erupted from the great and threw Zhang against the wall of the alley way. Zhang recovered as the water ninja hoped down from the building. 

“You again.” Zhang said, “You know i've got to ask, how did you find our base?”

“Like I'd tell you.” Nya said as she charged,

Zhang tried to fire at Nya but she cartwheeled out of the way and when Zhang raised his gun at her, Nya commanded the water to climb up Zhang and hold him in place.  
Zhang was trapped in a giant water ball that was slowly drowning him. It held him tightly and he couldn’t move a muscle.

“Do you know how long i’ve been waiting for you?” Nya angrily asked, “It doesn’t matter, this is for Zane.”

Nya launched her trident at Zhang, time slowed as he eyed the approaching trident. However, at the last second, a ball of green energy blasted the trident away from its target. The trident harmlessly hit the ground and Nya looked to her right and saw Lloyd, Kai, and Skylor approaching. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Nya asked with disgust.

The distraction weakened Nya’s focus on the water ball and gave Zhang enough control to fire his gun wildly. A bullet barely missed Nya but the surprise was enough to shatter her focus. The water ball fell apart, leaving Zhang on the ground gasping for air. He then got up and cut his taskmasters loose. He and his four men turned to face the four ninja.

“Maybe next time.” Zhang suggested as he dropped a flash grenade.

While Zhang and the taskmasters had the benefit of knowledge and were able to look away, the ninja were completely caught off guard and had their senses disoriented for about a minute, plenty of time for Zhang and his men to get away.  
When the ninja recovered and noted Zhang’s absence, Nya turned to the rest of them, her cheeks burning with anger.

“What’s wrong with you?!” Nya shouted. 

“I could ask you the same.” Lloyd calmly rescinded, “We don’t kill subdued people, Nya, even him.”

“Well the next time that bastard kills one of our own, it’s on you!” Nya spat at Lloyd.

Lloyd shook his head disapprovingly, “This isn’t how we do things.” 

“Lloyd’s right Nya.” Kai added, “Zane wouldn’t have wanted this.”

Nya briefly looked sad before she crossed her arms, “Really? I doubt he would’ve wanted you to sell drugs either but here we are. I saw the pre-trial yesterday. Do you think Zane would’ve killed so many people you’ve gotten killed?”

Kai swallowed a sudden outburst of anger and calmly responded, “Yeah, you’re right, I did get people killed. And look at where that got me. I could spend the rest of my fucking life behind bars because of my mistakes.”

“But this isn’t the same as what you did.” Nya contested, “I’m avenging Zane.”

“No,” Lloyd responded, “You’re getting revenge. We don’t kill out of revenge.”

“Nya, killing Zhang won’t bring him back. It’ll only break you.” Skylor said, “Trust me, I know what it’s like to want revenge, but going down this path will only lead to more pain.”

Nya harshly wiped a tear away, “No! I’m doing this for him. I’m doing this so that Zhang can’t hurt any of us. I’m not selling drugs to kids, i’m saving us, protecting us. And if that means selling my soul, then so be it.”

Kai hugged Nya, “No, I won’t accept that, i’m not giving up on you.”

Nya pushed her older brother away, “You don’t get to judge me, you drug dealer.”

Kai winced at that and Skylor stepped forward to address Nya, “Nya, considering that you are trying to murder Zhang for revenge, I don’t know if I would say anything about judging.”

“You guys, we have more pressing matters.” Lloyd interrupted, “Zhang and Kane are still out there and we’re missing almost half of our team. We need to find Kane so we can stop whatever she’s going to do to destroy fate.”

“We’ll find them,” Nya responded, “when I knocked out the taskmasters, I put a tracker on each of them in case they got away.”

“Won’t they find that?” Skylor asked, “That’s exactly how we found their last base.”

“Zhang asked me how we found the base, so I don’t think he knows.” Nya said.

“Ok, good.” Lloyd stated, “So now we have to find Jay, Cole, and Pixal and get them back here. We can’t stop Kane without them.”

Nya crossed her arms and started walking out of the alley, “Fine, i’ll go get Jay.”

“Wait, how do you know where he is?” Lloyd asked.

“Jay and Cole are both very attached to their parents.” Nya responded, “If there’s any place either of them would go to wallow, it’s home.”

“Ok.” Lloyd started, “Let’s get the ninja back and then meet-up back at the bounty.”

“Fine,” Nya replied, “but don’t stop me from killing Zhang or Kane again.”

With that, Nya formed her dragon and took off. Kai, Lloyd, and Skylor looked at each other.

“Don’t worry Kai.” Lloyd reassured, “Nya’s just grieving. She won’t do anything that she’ll regret.”

“I hope not.” Kai mumbled to himself.

“I’ll go after Pixal.” Skylor offered.

“I’ll go get Cole.” Lloyd said.

“I’ll call up Ronin,” Kai suggested, “we’ll need all the help we can get, and he’ll be a lot of help.

“Sounds like a plan.” Lloyd agreed.

Lloyd then summoned his dragon and flew into the sky. Kai pulled out his phone and listened to Skylor grumble about needing to learn to conjure her own dragon while leaving the alley and flagging down a taxi. Kai contacted Ronin and waited for the former mercenary to pick up.

“Kai, how’s it hanging?” Ronin crudely asked, “I saw ya on the news and you didn’t look so hot.” 

“I’m fine but we need your help storming a base full of assholes who deserve it.”

“Oh, sorry Kai, ya know that I love a good fight but i’m still putting my store back together and–”

“Ronin, they killed Zane.”

“What? They killed Zane? Like, Zane the ice ninja?”

“Yeah.” Kai responded angrily, “They stuffed him with a bomb and exploded him like he was nothing.”

“...Let me get my guns and I'll be at the Monastery in forty-five minuets.”

“Good.” Kai coldly replied before hanging up his phone.

Kai then formed his dragon and took off to meet Ronin at the monastery.

“Jay sweetie, you can’t sit here all day.”

Jay sat up from his childhood bed to face his mom, Edna. When Jay showed up, his parents had been ecstatic to see him. They thought he wanted to visit only to have Jay sulking in his own room.Now, two days later, and they were ready to help their son with his issues and yet, it seemed as if Jay didn’t want to. 

“I know ma, I just…”

Jay caught himself and internally scowled at his voice. Jay had his parent’s accent and he hated it, it reminded him of his past, his childhood. Jay would never tell anyone this but he had secretly spent a year taking online voice classes to remove his accent. For the most part it worked, except for the citations in which he was stuck in the past, like now. He collected himself and spoke without his accent.

“I just don’t know what to do.”

“Well I know,” Edna cheerfully replied, “you can help me in the kitchen!” 

Jay groaned as his mom pulled him into the kitchen. Jay’s dad, Ed, sat at the kitchen table reading the paper. He looked up at his wife and kid and smiled.

“Hey Edna, hey son.”

“Hey pa.” Jay responded as his mom handed him a bowl.

“Ed would you be a dear and hand me some eggs?” Edna asked as she pulled out a bag of flower.

Jay watched in confusion as his mom pulled out another bowl and poured the flower in and started stirring. Why did she hand him a bowl when she just got another? Ed grabbed four eggs, cracked them, and put them into Edna’s bowl. Then, he turned to face his son.

“So Jay, I hear yer not doing too well in the head.”

Jay avoided his father’s gaze, “Pa, can we please not talk about this?” 

“Well why not? What’s going on that’s got ya so down?”

Jay sat down at the table and started crying. 

“Oh sweetie, what’s wrong?” Edna said as she knelt down and hugged Jay.

“Zane’s dead, and I think it might be my fault.” Jay said as he sobbed.

“Oh haha.” Edna said before realizing that Jay was being serious, “Oh no son, you can’t be serious.”

Jay continued crying as Ed and Edna gathered themselves. Ed was the first to talk.

“I’m sorry to hear that son.”

“It’s my fault.” Jay said to himself.

“Oh nonsense.” Ed replied, “Why would ya get one of yer friends killed?”

“I tried to do something that would help the team and it didn’t work.” Jay sobbed, “I just wanted to help and instead I ruined everything, just like I always do. I’m broken and I can’t do anything!”

Ed remained quiet as Jay calmed himself down. 

“Jay, yer not broken.” Edna insisted, “Talk to us, tell us what’s wrong.”

“I can’t do anything right.” Jay softly spoke, “I’ve gotten my friends hurt and killed. I’ve released threats big enough to destroy the city. I feel stuck with all this...this trauma. The trauma from being a ninja, from my old bullies, from always having to be the ‘funny one’. It broke me. This trauma, it breaks people.”

“Yes it does.” Ed said.

Ed wordlessly slid Jay’s empty black bowl off of the table and let it drop onto the floor. The bowl crashed onto the ground and broke apart into pieces. Jay stood up and shook, though Edna was clearly unsurprised.

“Oh no,” Ed said in a monotone voice, “The bowl’s shattered. Jay, why don’t ya come help me fix it.”

“How are we supposed to fix that?” Jay asked as his father pulled him from the table.

“You’ll see. Now be a dear and pick up the pieces of the bowl please.”

As Jay knelt down to collect the pieces, Ed looked and winked at Edna who jokingly rolled her eyes. Jay scoped all of the pisces and wordlessly followed Ed out of their house to the workshop room in the back. When they got there, Jay put the pieces on the old wooden table while Ed pulled up a jar of thick golden liquid. 

Ed looked at Jay, “Sit, listen, and watch Jay.” 

Jay pulled up a chair and sat down to watch his father work.

“Ya know, before I met yer mother I went to a village to learn about fixing and repairing broken poetry and machines.”

Ed took a brush and used it to coat the rough edges of the pieces. 

“In this village I learned the lesson of embracing one’s fractures. Ya see, the people of this village believe that when a pottery is broken, it can’t ever be the exact same again. It can be fixed, but never the same again.”

Ed held up his jar of gold paste, “Instead, they use this to put the pieces back together again. The gold coloring highlights the once broken parts and the pottery is able to embrace it’s past fractures.”

Ed then pushed the pieces of the bowl back together to reform the bowl. It was still the same and was completely sealed, but now it had gold lines all along the places where it was fractured.

“And so ya see,” Ed started, “The bowl is still a bowl. It can still function, but it looks different and embraces its past hardships.”

“Two more things.” Ed said as he held the bowl in place, “First, he bowl will take time to heal. If I poured water in it right now, It would slip through the cracks. It takes time for the paste to harden and the bowl to recover. Second, the bowl needs help to be fixed, can a bowl fix itself?”

Jay shook his head, “No.”

“No, it can’t.” Ed agreed, “And there’s nothing wrong with that. A bowl needs help to recover and become whole again, if it tries to do it on its own, it will fail. Do you understand?”

Jay slowly nodded his head.

“Ok Jay, know I need ya to listen carefully to this next part. Humans are just like pottery, everything I just said about this bowl can be applied to people. Every Time people break, they are given the opportunity to become a thing of beauty. Ya say that yer broken Jay, now you have a choice. Do ya stay broken or do ya get help to recover?”

Jay looked at Ed in shock, since when did his pa get so wise? Jay had an epiphany when his lesson had been delivered to him. All this time, Jay had based his identity on his failures, his breaks, but he never considered actually embracing these breaks, and working to get past them. He’d been sitting around thinking that he could never go back to the person he was before, and while that was true, what was stopping him from seeking the help he needed? Jay had focused so hard on the person he was that he never stopped to imagine the person he could be. Jay could be more than a broken person. He could be the husband that Nya deserved, the best friend that Cole needed, he...he could be himself.  
In that moment, Jay decided that he wanted to get better, he wanted the gold paste, he wanted the help. But, the last time that Jay had sought out help, he was ignored and hurt. The mere thought halted him in his tracks. Jay slowly looked at his father.

“But what if the help I want doesn’t help me?”

“Then ya pull-up yer straps and try again with someone else.” Ed replied.

“I know, it’s just that I...i’m scared.” Jay quietly admitted.

Ed kelt down to look Jay at his eye level, “ So be scared, and do it anyways. Lord, knows that that’s what me and yer mom did while raising you. Besides, what’s the worst that can happen, ya don’t get any help? When ya seek help, all ya can go is up, even if it takes some time, just like it takes time for the bowl to fully solidify back together.”

Jay hugged his dad, “Thanks pa.”

“Just doing my job.”

They stayed there for a few more seconds before there was a knock at the workshop door. Jay turned to find his mom at the door.

“Jay, sweetie, Nya’s here.”

Jay walked out the workshop and back into the house to find his future wife sitting at the table. 

“We’ll wait out here son.” Edna said as she and Ed stayed outside the house to let Jay and Nya have their privacy.

Nya saw Jay enter and stood up

“Nya, i’m–”

“Not now Jay,” Nya harshly interrupted, “we have to get back to the Bounty.”

“...Will Cole be there? I owe him an apology.”

“You both need to apologize.” Nya rescinded, “Now come on, let’s go.” 

Nya grabbed Jay’s hand and led him out of the house and stopped by his parents.

“I’d love to stay and catch up, but we have an urgent situation on our hands.” Nya said as she hugged both Ed and Edna.

“Oh don’t ya worry,” Edna responded, “we’ll catch up next time.”

Edna then hugged Jay, “Oh be careful my sweet baby boy.”

“I will ma.” Jay responded as he let go of Edna.

Jay then turned and hugged Ed who whispered, “Take what I said to heart.”

“I will.” Jay responded as he and Nya conjured their dragons.

Jay climbed on his dragon and took off, following Nya’s lead. As Jay flew, he thought back to his screaming match with Cole. Jay just wanted to not be at fault for something...and instead he pretty much outed his best friend to the whole group. Jay remembered being in middle school and the constant fear of being outed before he was ready, now Jay was the bully. Jay felt immense guilt as they approached the Bounty. Would Jay be able to get his best friend back?

Cole hesitated before knocking on the door to his childhood home. After the blowout with Jay, Cole had taken off for home, except that’s not where he ended up. Cole wandered the streets of his old village, wearing a hoodie as to not be recognized. Cole didn’t feel safe here, now that he had come out to himself he felt like he had a target on his back. Despite being one of the best fighters in the world, Cole felt like anyone could take him out at any time.  
Cole decided to distract himself with various activities. He spent the next two days at the park, the ice skating rink, and visiting penguins at the zoo. Hours after he realized that he was visiting all of Zane’s favorite places, Cole decided that he had done enough stalling and made his way to his father’s home.  
After about a half an hour, Cole walked up to his old home and knocked on the door. He briefly considered walking away but he had to do this, he needed to come out to his father. But was he sure he wanted this? Cole knew that as soon as he came out, there was no reversing it. Cole didn’t even know why it was so hard to do this, his dad was probably the only person in this tow who even liked gay people.  
Cole had his choice made for him as he heard the door unlocked. He stood back and watched as the door swung open.

“Cole?”

“Hi dad.” Cole said.

Cole’s dad, Lou, opened the door and invited his son inside, “How are you?”

Luo and Cole walked to the living room where Luo gestured to the living room couch, next to the coffee table.

“I’ll make some coffee for us,” Luo started, “why don’t you take a seat?”

Cole sat down while Luo brewed two cups of coffee. Luo put one packet of sugar of his own cup while he put three packets of sugar and a spoonful of hazelnut creamer into Cole’s coffee. Then he brought the two cups back to the coffee table. Luo sat down, gave Cole his coffee and spoke to him.

“So how have things been?” Luo asked.

Cole sat his coffee down on the table and turned to his father, “Not good. Zane...he’s, he’s dead.”

Luo choked on his coffee before and recovered before speaking up, “Oh my god, are you ok?”

Luo leaned forward to hug his son as Cole wiped a tear away

“Honestly,” Cole answered, “no i’m not. Dad, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Luo pulled back, “what is it?”

“I-i’m…” Cole put his hands in his head and tried to not start hyperventilating.

Luo scooted over to Cole and put his arm over him, letting his son catch his breath before asking him one simple question.

“Cole...are you trying to come out to me?”

At once, Cole hastened his breath and looked at his dad, “How did you know?”

Luo smiled as he stroked Cole’s hair, “I don’t know, I guess I just knew.”

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” Cole asked as he leaned into his father’s shoulder.

“Well, I didn’t want to make that choice for you. And honestly, I wanted you to trust me enough to tell me.”

Cole looked at his dad, “How long have you known that I was....” Cole took a deep breath before finishing, “that I was gay.”

Luo shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know, I guess I always just had a suspicion. For me, it was confirmed when you started puberty. I had never seen someone get so flustered over Chris Evans before.”

Cole remained silent.

“I also never talked to you about it–” Luo took a sip of his coffee, “–because i was scared for you. This town, it used to be very unaccepting of the LBGT community.”

Cole looked up confused, “What do you mean ‘used to’?”

“Well, as you might remember, I’ve been advocating for LGBT rights over here. The last couple of years have seen lots of improvement. Laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation have been passed, gay marriage is in the process of being legalized, really the stigma of not being straight in general has been drastically reduced.”

Cole took another sip of his coffee before asking, “Did you do that?”

“It wasn’t just me of course but, and not to toot my own horn, but I did do a lot of work.”

“Did you do all of that because you knew about me?” Cole asked.

Luo nodded his head in agreement, “Before I knew that you were going to become a ninja I assumed that you’d be staying here, in our hometown. I wanted to help turn this place around so you could have the life you deserved without having to live in fear.”

Cole looked at his dad with admiration and pulled him into a tight hug, “Thank you, thank you so much.”

“Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me.” Lou responded. He hesitated before asking, “Cole, did you have feelings for Zane?”

Cole wordlessly nodded his head up and down.

“I’m sorry that you lost him, I know that you two were close.” Luo said.

Cole pulled from his dad, took a sip from his coffee, and thought for a second before speaking again.

“Dad, why didn’t you tell me about the new laws?”

Luo sadly smiled at his son, “I’ve tried calling you, but you never answer me.”

Of all the things that happened today, that answer hit Cole the hardest. Yes he was busy, but how many times did he see his dad’s missed calls and never called back? How many text messages were lost to time because Cole couldn’t be bothered to respond? Dad had been working years to make Cole’s life better and yet he couldn’t even answer a call, what was wrong with him? Cole mentally promised, to himself, to make more of an effort to talk with his dad.  
Cole and Luo sat in silence drinking their coffee for about twenty minutes before someone knocked on the door. Cole stood up and approached the door, he opened it to find a blonde boy with green eyes waiting for him.

“Cole, good to see you’re here.” Lloyd said, “Good afternoon Mr. Blacksmith-Hence”

Lou scoffed, “Lloyd, I told you to call me Lou

“Don’t count on it.” Lloyd responded, “Anyways, Cole, we need you. I know that you’re hurting right now, but we have to come together to beat Kane and Zhang.”

Cole took a deep breath, as usual, duty calls.

“He’s right.” Luo said, “I know that you’re conflicted right now but you have to help your brothers and sisters.”

Cole turned to Loyd, “Have you heard from Jay yet?”

“Nya just confirmed with me that she and Jay landed on the Bounty about fifteen ago. We have to go so we can find out where Kane is.”

“I owe him an apology.” Cole realized as he recapped the hurtful things he said to his best friend..

“Yeah, you do.” Lloyd agreed, “I know you were upset and I don’t think that what Jay said was ok either, but that didn’t give you the right to blame him like that. It didn’t give you the right to say those hurtful things.”

“You’re right, I need to fix things with Jay.” Cole replied as he turned to his dad.

“I’ve got to go, dad.”

“I know,” Luo announced, “please be safe.”

Cole nodded and then turned to hug his dad, “Thanks dad, for everything. I love you.”

“I love you too, now go kick some butt for me.” Luo responded.

Cole and Lloyd walked out of the house and formed their dragons. The two ninja climbed onto their dragons and were about to leave when Luo called out to his son.

“Cole!”

Cole turned to his father who added, “As campy as it sounds, be true to who you are, recognise that it’s ok to be yourself.”

The earth ninja smiled and nodded before he took off with Lloyd. While flying, Cole thought back to his last moments with Zane. The ice ninja had made him promise not to let the team fall apart. Cole felt a knot form in his stomach as he realized that he was the one who almost fractured the team. Zane deserved better than that, he would get better than that. Cole silently vowed to keep the team together and commanded his dragon to fly faster.

Kai, Nya, Wu, Cyrus Borg, Misako, and Ronin stood on the deck of the Bounty and watched Lloyd and Cole approach the flying ship. Jay heard Cole and Lloyd landed on the Bounty and cautiously headed outside. Both ninja were nervous, fearing that they couldn’t resolve their issues, that their friendship was permanently damaged. Would Jay ever forgive Cole for blaming Zane’s and Nya’s death on him? Would Cole ever forgive Jay for outing him and saying that his mom would be ashamed of him? Jay put his hand on the door handle and hesitated before going outside.  
Cole got off of his dragon and saw Jay meekly approaching. The two best friends stopped moving and stared at one another before running to each other. The earth and lightning ninja embraced each other in a warm hug and both men started crying.

“I’m sorry Jay, i’m so sorry.” Cole cried out.

“No, I'm sorry.” Jay sobbed.”

“I should’ve never blamed you buddy. Zane and Nya were never your faults. And you’re not useless.”

“Your mom would be so proud of the man you’ve become today.”

Cole and Jay continued to hold each other and cry before Cole decided to speak up

“Jay...i’m gay.”

Jay pulled back to look Cole in the eyes, “It’s ok, i’m here for you. Welcome to the non-straights club.”

Both Cole and Jay laughed at that before hugging again. Jay decided it was his turn to confess.

“Cole, I need help. I feel broken and I don’t want to anymore, but i’m terrified of asking for it.”

“It’ll be ok Jay, you won’t be alone. You have me, Nya, and the rest of the ninja.”

Jay and Cole continued to hug each other and bawl their eyes out.

“Oh god, look at us.” Cole noted, “Crying like a bunch of babies.”

“I know,” Jay replied, “we’re so screwed up.”

Both ninja laughed as they stopped crying, and Cole spoke up.

“As long as we have each other.”

“Yeah.” Jay agreed.

As the earth and lightning ninja held on to each other. Nya approached Kai who spoke to her.

“You know, as much as I fucking hate to admit it, sometimes I wonder if Kennedy was onto something with those two.”

Nya crossed her arms, “Tell me about it, it’s genuine fear of mine that Jay will leave me for Cole one day.”

“So–” Kai turned to face Nya, “–how are things between us?”

“Kai, I think I owe you an apology.” Nya said, much to Kai’s shock.

“I think I should be the one apologizing. I was the one who fucked up, I got myself into this mess, not you.” Kai argued. “Yeah but I did give up on you.” Nya responded as she hugged Kai, “You were alone in jail and while I was busy, I could have easily visited you. What you did was awful and part of me is still disgusted by you but you weren't doing it for any evil reasons. I know that you would never give up on me, no matter how badly I messed up. How could I not do the same?”

“Oh uh, I wasn't expecting this.” Kai admitted as he sniffled.

Nya pulled away and smirked, “Kai are you crying?”

“No! I just...your hair got into my eyes.” Kai defended.

“Alright you guys,” Lloyd called out, “I know that you all just made up but we still have to stop Kane from destroying fate. Nya, did you find the location of the tracker?”

Nya stepped forward, “Yeah, it turns out that Zhang and Kane are located at Zhang’s headquarters in the squalors.”

Lloyd nodded his head, “Good. Kai, any word on Pixal and Skylor?”

“None yet.” Kai responded as he rubbed his eyes.

“That’s ok,” Lloyd said, “we’ll pick them up on our way there. I need you all to understand that Kane is trying to destroy a crucial point of our universe, we can’t let that happen. Everyone needs to get some sleep, we leave to attack the base at dawn.

As everyone cleared the Bounty, Nya stayed behind and pulled out a picture of Zane. It was from when they came back from the Neverrealm. Zane and Nya decided to go to an arcade to spend more time together as they had never really developed their own personal friendship. Her face hardened when remembering that Zane was gone and that no new memories could be made again.

“I’ll avenge you Zane,” Nya harshly whispered, “I promised.”

The water ninja then walked to her room to prepare for the coming battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week will show the ninja taking the fight to Kane and Zhang, I'll see you guys then!


	13. The Fate Killer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja race to stop Kane from enacting her final plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, how goes it? I forgot to mention last chapter but feel free to let me know if you don't think that Kane's plan makes sense so I can go back and clarify it. This has a fight scene that i've been waiting to write. But on a side note, thank god for copy and paste because "taskmaster" gets used a lot.

Zhang watched as the two helicopters landed on the roof of his base and looked to the turrets. He and his men had turned the squalors into a war zone. Zhang didn’t like it but this was going to draw in the ninja. He reminded himself that this was all for the better, when fate was destroyed the squalors would be able to make their own fate. 

“What’s the point of all of this?” Kane asked as she approached from behind , “Why don’t we just let the ninja come?”

Zhang turned around and started walking inside his base, “If the ninja just let you into their home, would you trust it?”

Kane shook her head, “No, I’d assume it was just a trap.”

“Exactly,” Zhang responded as he opened the door, “if the ninja don’t get any resistance trying to get to us, they’ll get suspicious. We want the green ninja here, but we have to make him force his way here in order to pull it off.” 

Zhang entered the building and examined the turrets on both sides of the front desk. He looked at the taskmasters that were typing up bags of flour to the roof of the front desk area.

“What are those for?” Kane asked.

Zhang smirked, “You’ll see.”

then walked to the back where the tables were absent in favor of the Fate Killer, which sat in the middle of the room, ready to fulfill its task. Everything that Zhang and Kane had done was for this machine. They were going to create a paradox and destroy fate while making and possibly destroying a few timelines. Zhang had to admit, he usually wasn’t one for morals. Zhang did whatever it took to win or survive but this was a bit much.

“Kane?”

“Yeah?” Kane turned to face Zhang.

“These timelines, will they have living people right? So what’re we gonna do to create multiple timeline with multiple people living in them just to kill all of them?” 

“Don’t worry about that, they’re not real.” Kane responded with a surprisingly casual attitude.

“But...they are. Look, i’m all for doing what it takes to win but there is a difference between necessary evil and destroying whole timelines.”

Kane starred at Zhang, “This is a necessary evil. The other timelines won’t know they’re alive or when they die. It’ll be no different than shooting someone in the back of the head.”

“Right...so how do you know they won’t just continue living?”

“If i’m being honest, I have no idea.” Kane admitted, “But that doesn’t change the fact that we have an opportunity to free all of Ninjago, save my family, and give the squalors a better life.”

‘Give the squalors a better life’, that was all Zhang wanted. His home would have a chance to become a better place. Yet, the mercenary couldn’t help but wonder if they were worth creating and then destroying whole timelines? Were those people even alive if they were just a copy of this original timeline?

“Kane, is ending all those lives really worth all this? Is saving your family really worth the genocide?”

“Zhang those people aren’t real, they’re just copies of us, nothing more and nothing less. Their lives will be extinguished just as fast as they were created.”

Zhang pulled back, “That’s not very heroic of you.”

“Yeah well, I just killed someone so I don’t exactly feel heroic.” Kane said as she looked down before hardening her expression, “It doesn’t matter, all that matters is that we do what we have to for the people we love, the people we care about. Zhang, I can’t do this without you. I need to know if you’re still committed.”

Zhang weighed his options, he could just kill Kane and be over it. He could also kill her and change fate for his own interests. There were two problems with either of these options, Kane was the expert with this plan, and neither would get the ninja off of his back. Zhang realized that there was no turning back now and that his only option was forward. 

Zhang nodded at Kane, “...Yeah, i’m still in.”

“Good.” Kane relaxed a little, “I’m going to make sure the Fate Killer is working properly.”

Zhang cursed to himself and walked to the front and saw Briggs talking with some medic taskmasters.

“What’s the word?” Zhang asked as he interrupted the two. 

“We’ve found the missing taskmasters,” Briggs answered, “all in good condition. Also, the eleven taskmasters have made a healthy recovery.”

“So we have forty men ready to go.”

“Yes sir.” Briggs responded.

Zhang turned to the medic taskmaster, “How many doses of adrenaline do we have ready?”

The medic quickly checked his inventory on his phone, “Enough for everyone here to have two doses.” 

“Good, I want every able bodied taskmaster to be given one dose of adrenaline. Tell them to wait until the ninja attack to take them.”

“I can rig them to the taskmasters suits to gas them with the second dose of adrenaline whenever you want” The medic offers.

Zhang smiled, “That sounds good, please get my men ready.”

The medic nodded and turned back to the medical room while Zhang focused his attention onto his second in command.

“You remember your part of the plan?” Zhang asked.

“Yes sir, I will take three taskmasters and go to assassinate the green ninja’s mother before she can have him.” Briggs responded, “Kane is going to give us injections of IDM to temporarily disconnect from fate in the past.”

“Good, and the civilians are evacuated?”

“Yes, some took a little convincing, but everyone is safe and out of harm's way.” Briggs confirmed.

“Good.”

Zhang looked out to the squalors, now prepped for war with turrets everywhere, Taskmaster on rooftops, the two helicopters stationed with a flyer and a gunner for each one, and a sniperpost in an apartment building. The defenses were set, the men were ready, and the Fate Killer was finished. Things were starting to come together. And as soon as the ninja arrived and ‘fought’ to the base, Kane would be able to implement her final plan. 

“What else is there to do sir?” Briggs asked.

Zhang turned to Briggs and smirked, “Everything is done. Now all we have to do is wait for the ninja to come to us.”

“Please say something.” Pixal pleaded to the huge stone eyes above her. 

Pixal waited for a sign, anything to tell her that Zane was still here. She was at the statue of the Titanium ninja, hoping that, by some miracle, her future husband would find his way back to her. Pixal had no such luck, however, as the statue did nothing but stare back at her.

“How can I go on without you? It is not fair, why does it always have to be you? Why could it not have been someone else–”

Pixal caught herself. She didn’t mean that. She wouldn’t trade Zane for any of her other other friends, not only because Zane would be against the decision, but because both Zane and Pixal would be overwhelmed with guilt. She solemnly sat down at the base of the statue.  
Pixal tried to distract herself by reviewing everything she knew about Dark Matter. Pixal had recorded the files that Kane showed them at this very spot, back when he was still alive. Pixal then searched over all documents about dark matter, most of them written by a younger Kane, and found nothing other than a theory of Dark Matter running parallel with time and that it was finite. Pixal wished that she and Zane had more time. Then Pixal tried to figure out what the machine that Cole carried to the train was. It had a vent to open up something, but Pixal didn't know what, but she did notice fragments of chronosteel on it, it’s circuitry was nowhere near as complex as Zane’s. Every time Pixel tried to come up with a theory about Kane’s plans, she always wound up thinking about the ice ninja. Truthfully, Pixal was too distracted by Zane to put anything together.   
Eventually, Pixal gave upon her investigation and decided to go back to questioning how she would now go about life. She reached behind and pulled the cracked red katana she salvaged from the subway from her holster. She examined it, if it’s location was anything to go by then she was going to guess that it was probably one of the last objects that Zane ever held. She wondered how it had been constructed and what material had made up its blade. Yet when she looked   
Pixal heard a car on the other side of the park open, she recognised the dark red hair of Skylor approaching her. Skylor must’ve figured out that Pixal would’ve gone to the one place where Zane would’ve been presented as his best. Pixal heard Skylor calling out to her but kept looking down, eventually her friend calmed down and sat next to the samurai.

“Pixal.” Skylor said, finally getting the nindroid’s attention.

“I remember when I first saw him,” Pixal softly spoke, “When he gave part of his power source to me, the first time I gained sentience. When I woke up and saw him, it was like I had been rebirthed. Ever since then we have been together. The Surge, Chen, Garmadon, and even when he was stuck in the Neverrealm, he was always there, always somewhere that could be reached.”

Skylor pulled Pixal close to her, who laid her head on Skylor’s shoulder as she continued.

“Now he is gone and I do not know what to do.” 

Skylor held Pixal for a few minutes before hesitantly speaking up, “Pixal, we have to go back and stop Kane. We need you.”

Pixal shook her head in opposition, “Unacceptable, I cannot go back to the Bounty. It has too many memories.”

“I remember when I lost my dad,” Skylor started, “I felt like I was never going to be whole again, even if he was evil, he was still my dad. I didn’t want to be anywhere around anything that I thought might remind me of him. But eventually it gets easier to live with, especially when you have your family with you.”

“I do not know how to improve my emotional conditional.” Pixal admitted.

“Pixal,” Skylor started, “you aren’t alone but if you want to get better, you have to embrace Zane’s death, not run from it.”

“How do I do that?” Pixal asked, clearly frustrated. 

“I don’t know.” Skylor said, “But if you keep going like this, you’ll snap and lose yourself–”

“What did you say?” Pixal asked as she suddenly perked up.

Skylor was taken aback a little, “You’ll snap?”

Pixal stood up and pressed a button on her wrist, calling her mech suit back to her. A few minutes of pacing and questions from Skylor later, the samurai mech closed in on them.

“Pixal, what’s going on up there?” Skylor asked.

But Pixal didn’t answer, she was too busy making connections and theories. Her mind was racing as she developed hypotheses, scrapped them, and continued to figure out ways to put together the pieces that she had. Pixal didn’t have the whole story, just enough to get an idea, enough to realize the severity of the situation. The mech suit touched down and Pixal immediately climbed into the pilot suit and motioned to Skylor.

“We need to go, Skylor.” Pixal commanded.

“Where, the Bounty?” Skylor asked with hope in her voice.

“Yes, we have to tell them.” Pixal thought out loud.

“Uh, tell them what?” Skylor asked as she climbed into the passenger seat of the mech suit.

“Skylor, you are a genius.” Pixal enthusiastically stated.

“I know that,” Skylor replied, “but how? I just said ‘snap’.”

“I will tell you everything on the way but for now, come on, we have to get to the ninja. I believe that I am now aware of Kane’s plan.”

Pixal and Skylor landed on the Bounty and climbed out of the mech. The ninja, Ronin, Wu, Misako, and Cyrus Borg approached her cautiously but Pixal spoke up before they could ask her emotional state.

“Guys we have to stop Kane.”

Everyone gathered around her and Lloyd spoke up, “We know Pixal, we’re on our way to stop her right now.”

“No, you do not understand, I think I understand what Kane is going to do.” Pixal insisted.

“Well? What do you think?” Jay impatiently asked.

“I believe that the Fate Killer is a time machine and that Kane is going to use it to go back in time and change events enough to break fate.”

“How?” Nya asked.

“I have been going over Kane’s records on Dark Matter.” Pixal answered, “It does not work the same way that time does. I do not understand it fully but somehow Kane is going to travel back in time and change the timeline enough that Fate can not sustain itself.”

“But how does that work?” Cole asked.

Pixal turned to face him, “It is like I said, I do not have it all pierced together but even if just what I said is true, it means that Kane is willingly going to change the timeline.”

“We cannot allow that to happen.” Wu spoke up, “Time is a delicate thing and to upend it could spell out immeasurable disaster. No matter what happens today, Kane must not be allowed to win.” 

“Lloyd,” Pixal called out, “how far are we from Zhang’s base?”

Lloyd walked to the autopilot navigation and responded, “About an hour and ten minuets.” He then turned towards everyone, “We can’t fail so we do whatever it takes to end this–” Lloyd then turned to Nya, “–but we’re ninja, we do Not kill unless absolutely necessary. Everyone get ready, when they see us, it’ll be hell.”

Everyone broke up and Nya finally had the chance to talk to Pixal, taking note of the red cracked katana.

“How are you holding up, Pixal?” Nya asked.

“The love of my life was just blown up in front of me so…I have been better.”

“Yeah, I guess it was kind of an incentive question.” Nya replied as she hugged her metallic sister, “But don’t worry Pixal, we’ll avenge him. I promise”

“You mean you will commit cold blooded murder in the name of ‘honoring’ Zane? If so, then you and I have very different ideas of honor.”

Nya pulled back, a little shocked from Pixal’s sudden harshness. She said nothing so Pixal took the opportunity to speak up again.

“You know that Zane would not want you to walk down this path right? Especially because of what happened to him. And before you accuse me of not knowing what Zane would have wanted, keeping in mind that I was literally inside his head for the better part of four years.”

“It’s not like that at all.” Nya defended, “I just want to make sure that his killers pay for what he’s done.”

“And then what?” Pixal asked, “You just go on, slaughtering anyone who stands in our way? That sounds like something Zhang would do.”

“What? No, i’m nothing like that bastard.” Nya asserted, “I only want to protect us, to make sure that no one else gets hurt. He only cares about himself.”

Pixal starred Nya down, “From where I stand if you start killing then the only difference between you and him is that he won’t be pretending to be a hero.”

“Don’t compare me to him, please.” Nya asked with a sad face, “I just want to keep us safe.”

“What is the point if you have to become a villain in doing so?” Pixal asked.

“If that’s what it takes to protect you guys.” Nya said as she looked down, “then it’s worth it.”

“Do you really believe that?” Pixal asked.

Nya shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know what else to do.”

Pixal put her hand on Nya’s left shoulder, “Do not lose yourself, that’s what you do. I have already lost Zane, I do not want to lose you too.”

Pixal then left and was almost immediately approached by Ronin. 

“Hey, uh Pixal. I’m sorry about Zane, He was a...a pretty cool dude.”

Pixal looked at Ronin. Had anyone else have said that she would have accused them of mocking her but Ronin was never good at emotions, so she found it kind of endearing that Ronin was trying to comfort her.

“Thanks Ronin. That means a lot coming from you.”

“Uh yeah, you’re welcome.” Ronin responded as he scratched his ear.

The former mercenary then turned away and went to see if Borg needed any help. Meanwhile, Kai approached Skylor, who was staring out to the city with her arms crossed, to talk to her.

“Hey.”

Skylor turned to face Kai and uncrossed her arms, “Hey. How are you holding up?”

“Well, it hasn’t been my finest week.”

“Yeah…”

“Hey, I wanted to thank you for being here for us. You’ve been a really big help.”

“Kai, you guys are my family. I’m always here for you.”

“...You know how crazy it’s been these past couple of years?” Kai asked.

“Yeah, remember the simple days when we were arguing over what type of pizza to get?” Skylor jokingly asked.

“Well, in my defense, I fucking hate pineapple.”

“Still? It’s easily one of the best.” Skylor defended.

They both laughed at their banter. Kai stopped and thought for a second before speaking.

“Yeah, we had a rough patch but I think we’ve both grown as people, or at least, i’d like to think so.”

Skylor grabbed Kai’s hand, “I think i’d agree with you.”

“Skylor…”

“Kai, i’ve been thinking about us.”

“Me too, but I don’t know if it’s the right time.”

“Kai, I just need to answer a simple question, would you want to try this, us, again?”

“Yes, of course but–” Kai started.

“Well then what’s the big deal?” Skylor asked.

“Skylor…”

“Kai, I know that you love me just as much as I love you. It’s as simple as that.”

“Skylor, i’m going to jail.” Kai said, “Believe me, I love you, but you don’t want to sit here waiting for me. Who knows how long I'll be gone if they convict me.”

“Hey,–” Skylor softly cupped Kai’s cheeks, “I love you, and when you get out. I’ll be right there waiting for you.”

Kai leaned down and kissed Skylor, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Kai pulled away and looked down at the floor, obviously still conflicted about his situation.

“Hey,” Skylor gently said, “We’ll get through this, I can hire a lawyer and with everything you’ve done for Ninjago i’m sure–”

“I’m going to plead guilty.”

Skylor took a step back, “What?”

“I have to face what I did. I’m a ninja, I have enforce the law, even if it means fucking myself over.”

Skylor didn’t know what to think. Kai was right of course but did he understand that he could be locked up for the rest of his life? 

Skylor hugged Kai from behind, “You know that if you do this, you might not get out for a long time?”

“It’d be better than what happened to the people I sold to.” Kai answered. “I’ve spent too long running from my responsibilities, it’s time I faced them head on.”

Skylor walked over and leaned against the railing and Kai spoke up, “Skylor I need a favor from you. I need you to watch over Nya while i’m gone.”

“...Of course.” Skylor responded as she scooted closer to Kai.

Skylor leaned her head on his shoulders while Kai leaned his head on her head.

“Gather around ninja.” An older voice announced.

Skylor and Kai turned around to see Cyrus Borg in the center of the deck with six briefcases. Kai squeezed Skylor’s hand before leaving to join him along with Nya, Lloyd, Jay, and Cole. 

“I repaired the Bounty, installed some weapons, and fixed up the mech suit, but I also took it upon myself to create new suits for you guys, even you Kai.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Kai said as he took his briefcase, “it definitely beats the head band from when we took on the Preeminent.” 

“Go change ninja,” Wu called out, “our battle is nearing.”

While the ninja were changing, Borg got dropped off at a bus station since he didn’t want to be caught in the fight.

“Make sure to get me pictures!” He demanded as the ship rose to the sky. 

“I will be sure to do so!” Pixal called out before the Bounty blasted away.

Wu, Misako, Ronin, Pixal, and Skylor met up on the deck and discussed their plans.

“Skylor and Ronin,” Wu started, “you two will go with the ninja and drop to the ground. then, all eight– sorry, seven of you will fight your way to the headquarters. Pixal, you will use your mech suit to fly around drawing attention from the ground team while also assisting them when necessary. Misako will stay on the bounty and will use our cannons to take out enemy clusters and whatever else they have. I will be an overwatch for the battle and direct the ninja as needed. When we locate the Fate Killer, we will destroy it and stop Kane from time traveling. Any questions?”

Ronin started loading his weapons, “Shoot the bad guys and the bad machine. Got it.”

“You know they have bullet resistant armor right?” Skylor asked.

“Of course, which is why I brought these.” Ronin held up a duffle bag.

He set the bag down and started unzipping it to show its contents.

“One medium scoped UMP, One AA-12 Shotgun with holographic sight, three frag grenades, one stun baton, and one 9mm silenced pistol. Each of these babies has two clips of armor piercing rounds, powerful enough to stop any armor the taskmasters have.”

“And how exactly do you plan on carrying all of that?” Misako asked.

Ronin winked and then wordless started putting on his gear. First, he put on a sleek utility belt and a kevlar bullet resistant vest. Ronin then slid the pistol into a hip holster on his left side with the extra magazine for the pistol placed on his right hip, right next to where he placed his baton. The frag grenades were placed across his upper chest and the extra magazines for the shotgun and UMP were placed on his lower chest area. The UMP was vertically holstered on the right side of Ronin’s back while the shotgun was vertically holstered on the left side of Ronin’s back. 

“It will be a wonder if you can even jog with all of that on.” Pixal noted.

“Eh, you’d be surprised.” Ronin responded before looking behind the samurai, “Hey, the ninja are back.”

Everyone looked to the ninja who were checking out their new outfits. The design was the exact same from when the Oni attacked, with one difference. The black lines (grey lines in Cole’s case) were replaced with lines of a bright white color, ice white. 

“They have Zane’s colors.” Pixal whispered to herself.

Pixal used her eyes to take a photo of the ninja in their new attire, she then sent it to Borg.

“I guess this was Borg’s way of honoring Zane.” Lloyd noted as he inspected his new gi.

A melancholy atmosphere fell over the Bounty as everyone thought about their fallen brother. While Borg had the best of intentions, was this all they could do to honor him? It wasn’t like this was going to bring him back. Lloyd wondered if this was the best they’ll ever be able to do, carrying his legacy into battle. He did take comfort in the idea that, in a way, this was another way that Zane would still be with them. Lloyd didn’t have to say that thought out loud to know that it was preposterous. 

Wu took note of the atmosphere and quickly said, “Now’s not the time to get distracted, We have a job to do. Now let’s review that plan.”

Ten minutes and a hundred questions from Jay later and everyone was aware of their roles. The navigation unit said that the Bounty was about ten minutes from the squalors. Everyone gathered around, silently waiting.

“All right you guys,” Lloyd started, “We are dealing with people, a group who thinks that they are in the right. Kane is so convinced of her perspective that she doesn’t realize that she risks everything by enacting her plan. She believes that she is the hero and because of that, she’ll do everything in her power to make sure that she wins. And she’s backed up by a militia of trained soldiers loyal to a psychopath.  
These people have tried their damndest to break us. They turned us against each other, to put Kai imprison, and they–” Lloyd took a deep breath, “–...they took Zane from us. But I think that they kept trying to separate us because they knew that we’re at our best when we’re together. And I don’t care how many times they’ve beaten us back, they’ve never faced us united, at our strongest.  
We’ve faced greater hardships, the Overlord, Garmadon, and Nadakhan. But none of them ever won because they are always stronger, because our strength comes from each other. It comes from our ability to endure our hardships together, whether they be trauma, fallen brothers, or failed parents.  
Kane can’t endure her hardship, she can’t deal with the loss of her family. And as a result, she will destroy the world before she is able to accept her loss. And this is why we’ll win and she’ll lose. Kane is just a villain, no different than any of the others we’ve beaten.   
When we begin our assault, we must attack with an unleashed fury, we have to beat them, and together we will.   
Now let’s do this! For us, for Zane!!”

“For Zane!1” Everyone else chanted.

Everyone broke up, newly energized and motivated, and made their way to their stations. Lloyd followed the ninja, Skylor, and Ronin to their drop point.

“Do you practice your speeches in the mornings or do you just make them up on the spot?” Jay asked.

“I think that Lloyd has some way of secretly reading his cards.” Cole suggested.

“No way,” Kai argued, “He just does this shit on his own, trust me, i’d know.” 

Lloyd was about to respond when he saw the outlines of rundown buildings on the horizon. 

“Guys, get ready.” Lloyd announced, ``We're at the squalors.”

Pixal climbed into her mech suit and scanned the layout of the squalors. She had to distract the multiple turrets, two attack helicopters, and an army of taskmasters enough to let the ground team get onto the ground.   
The autopilot is on and keeping Bounty.  
Wu was at the radar, which displayed all known/friendly signatures in blue and anyone else who was armed in red. He was also near the steering wheel for when they needed to make a quick turn. Misako sat, arm in sling, at the controls for the cannon. Everyone else was ready to drop to the ground. 

Lloyd looked at her and nodded, “On you, Pixal.”

Pixal nodded back and took a breath. She looked at a photo of Zane and then jumped off of the bounty. She rocketed toward the squalors, alerting all of the taskmasters to her and the Bounty’s presence. The taskmasters and turrets started shooting at her as she twirled around in the sky, dodging the projectiles while also scanning for the main base. She located it and relayed the info to Wu.  
Wu pulled up the screenshot, examined it, and then yelled out to the ninja.

“Just follow the main street until you hit it!”

“Yes Sensei!” The ninja yelled. 

The ninja, Skylor, and Ronin all yelled a war and charged before jumping off the Bounty. While most of the taskmasters and turrets were targeting the Samurai X mech, a few had noticed and started shooting at them, though it was too few to actually affect the ground team. The ninja used airjitzu to slow their descent with Ronin being carried by Cole and Skylor by Nya.   
Kai saw three taskmasters right below him and stopped using airjitzu in favor of slamming down with a massive ball of fire as he landed to clear his entrance, knocking the taskmasters away. Kai stood up and made sure that everyone else had landed before turning to find that the three taskmasters were recovering. Kai shot two balls of fire to knock two taskmasters down and focused on the third taskmaster.   
Kai charged up to the taskmaster, who swung with a right hook. Kai blocked with his left arm and then blocked the taskmaster’s left hook. Kai then retaliated with his own right hook, straight to the left side of the jaw before backhanding the taskmaster on the right side of the jaw and then throwing another right hook to the nose. Kai then hooked his left arm around the taskmaster’s right arm tightly and, with two punches, knocked him to the ground. Kai then finished the taskmaster off with two hammer strikes, breaking the mask and knocking the taskmaster out.   
Kai then shot a stream of fire out the third taskmaster and focused on his next opponent. Kai jumped and landed a superman punch on his second taskmaster. He then crouched down and sprung up, hitting the taskmaster in the chin with a powerful uppercut. Kai then tried to throw a right hook, which the taskmaster dodged. Kai compensated his missed hook by turning it into an elbow attack, slamming it into the taskmaster’s nose. Kai then followed this up with a jab to the eye and finally, a headbutt to knock the taskmaster to the ground. Just for good measure, Kai used all of his weight to slam down onto the head of the taskmaster with his right elbow.  
Kai then turned to his final taskmaster who charged at him. The taskmaster tried to side kick Kai with his left leg. Kai punched the kick away with his right arm and returned with a left uppercut to the chin. Kai then heated up both of his hands and jammed them into the taskmaster’s face, melting the metal onto the skin. The taskmaster screamed in pain as his mask melted onto his flesh until he passed out from the pain.   
Kai heard something wheezing past him and looked behind him to see a bullet hole. He took cover behind a building wall and radioed to Misako.

“Misako, there’s a fucking sniper post somewhere, it’s trying to kill me.”

Misako scanned in Kai’s direction and noticed a glare from one of the towers, “Wu. turn the ship to the east.”

Wu nodded and steered the ship east. Once in position, Misako aimed and fired her cannon, completely destroying the sniper tower.

“You’re good to go Kai.” Misako announced.

Wu followed the tracker and radioed to Pixal, “Pixal, Cole is starting to get surrounded. I need you to go support him.”

Pixal put her suit on autopilot and shot out of the mech. She used her jetpack to fly to Cole’s location. 

“Cole!” Pixal shouted.

Pixal saw Cole be thrown into a shop. She started to go in his direction but was stopped and approached by two taskmasters.  
Pixal dodged a flurry of gunshots and threw a knife into the first taskmaster’s gun and focused on the first taskmaster. Pixal threw three knives at the taskmaster, who dodged two of the knives while the third one was embedded into the gun, making it useless. Pixal then ran and jumped onto the taskmaster and performed a flying head scissor throw. Pixal then stabbed the taskmaster in the shoulder and headbutted him, rendering him unconscious.   
Pixal to her other opponent and threw a knife at him. To her surprise, the taskmaster caught the knife and threw it back at her. Pixal also caught the knife and threw it along with another one to cover her advance. The taskmaster dodged the knives but at that point, Pixal was sprinting at him. The taskmaster tried to clothesline her but Pixal slid under the right arm and embedded a knife into his Achilles heel. She then performed a roundhouse kick to the left temple and finished him off with a jab to the right eye.  
Pixal then stood up, only to get shot, right between the eyes, by a third taskmaster. Once again, she thanked her metal skin and kicked up into a crouching position. She threw a knife at the taskmaster’s rifle and knocked it out of his hands. Pixal then changed at the taskmaster who dodge her blade and caught her wrist, throwing the samurai to the ground. The taskmaster then pulled his pistol and aimed at Pixal but was saved by Cole, who pushed the gun away from Pixal and punched the guy straight to the floor. Cole then used his strength to pick up the taskmaster and throw him across the street. Cole then turned and offered Pixal his hand.

“You ok?” he asked as he picked Pixal up.

“Yes, thanks.” Pixal responded as she spotted several taskmasters appearing behind them.

Pixal took off in her jetpack to return to her mech suit while Cole slammed his left foot on the ground hard and sent a wave of ground spikes to the taskmasters. Cole then jogged to a taskmaster who went to attack him with a combat knife. Cole dodged the knife, hit the taskmaster in the stomach, and picked him up by the leg. Cole then spun the taskmaster around, gaining momentum, and launched him into another taskmaster, taking out two birds with one stone. Cole saw two turrets shooting at Ronin and Nya and decided to help them and charged into one turret.  
He knocked the turret off of its base, picked it up, and slammed it into the ground repeatedly. Cole then threw the remains of the turret into the other turret, almost completely destroying it. Cole ran over and used all of his strength to kick the turret, finishing it off.   
Cole then snuck up on a distracted taskmaster and suplexed him before stomping on his face. One last taskmaster took note of Cole and raised her rifle at the earth ninja. Cole stepped on the ground, creating a tremor that cost the taskmaster her balance. He then picked up the taskmaster by the throat and slammed the back of her head into the hard concrete ground.  
Cole looked to the sky as he heard a chopping sound in the air. Two helicopters appeared and started shooting at the ninja.  
Everyone took cover as the helicopter decimated anything that was moving and not a taskmaster. The helicopters started circling, slowly trying to get a good angle on the ninja. Cole thought about running into a shop but he would most likely be shot down before he stood all the way up.   
The helicopter finally circled around the ninja but was attacked by Pixal in her samurai mech suit before it could shoot them. Pixal started chasing the two helicopters, effectively keeping them busy.   
Lloyd took the opportunity to lead the charge to the base. He spotted a couple of taskmasters in front of him and did a flip over them. He landed behind the taskmasters and conjured two green balls of energy. He blasted two of the taskmasters and approached another taskmaster.   
The taskmaster jabbed at Lloyd with his left arm but the green ninja caught it with his right hand and hammered the taskmaster’s ribcage several times. Then he threw the taskmaster to the ground and repeatedly elbowed him before finishing the taskmaster off with one final headbutt.   
Lloyd then let the other taskmaster and waited for the man to attack. The taskmaster threw a left hook, which Lloyd avoided by leaning backwards, and then attempted to sweep the green ninja’s legs, which Lloyd dodged by stepping backwards. Lloyd then stepped in and initiated a series of chain punches into the taskmaster’s chest. Lloyd then supercharged a ball of energy and shot it at his opponent, sending the taskmaster flying.  
Lloyd did a jump spin hook kick and connected with the taskmaster’s head. Lloyd then rolled behind the dazed taskmaster and suplexed him. Lloyd charged up two energy balls when he heard his name being called out. 

“Lloyd!”

Lloyd turned around to see Jay sprinting to him and pointing to the roof right near them. Lloyd turned to see that there were about four taskmasters up there that were starting to aim at the ninja. Understanding what Jay wanted, Lloyd squatted and cupped his hands together. When Jay reached him, Lloyd threw Jay up to the ceiling with all of his strength.   
Jay used airjitzu to reach the roof and landed with a front flip. He electrocuted two of the taskmasters while the other two started firing. Jay dodged them with a backflip, then a sideflip, and finally a cartwheel. All four taskmasters got up and Jay took cover behind an AC vent before they could hit him.  
One of the taskmasters took cover behind another AC vent and started reloading his weapon. Jay took the opportunity to electrify the taskmaster’s AC vent. The lightning caused the vent to explode which sent the taskmaster flying off or the roof. Jay popped up from his cover and blasted the guns out of the remaining three taskmasters.   
He then charged at a taskmaster and jumped and kicked off the taskmaster. While the taskmaster was unbalanced, Jay ran and jumped and dropped the taskmaster off of the building. The two remaining taskmasters both approached but Jay stood up and blasted one of them away with a lightning bolt.  
Jay launched a flying kick at the standing taskmaster, knocking him down. The taskmaster got up and swung at Jay, who ducked and swept his legs. The taskmaster fell to the ground and Jay finished him off with a 360 kick.   
Jay then turned to the last taskmaster and decided to let his enemy approach him. The taskmaster cautiously approached Jay who, when he was in range, kicked the taskmaster in the balls. As the taskmaster instinctively doubled over, Jay rolled off his back and kneed the taskmaster in the face. He then electrocuted the taskmaster until he was knocked unconscious.   
Jay neared the edge of the roof and saw Nya taking cover from a taskmaster who was firing at her. She saw Jay, pointed at a bricked wall, and launched her trident into the wall. Jay backed up before running and jumping off the roof. He jumped off the trident and landed a kick on the taskmaster who was targeting Nya.  
Nya ran over and took out her trident and turned to face a taskmaster. She slashed his thighs before stabbing him in the left hip. Nya then pulled out the trident and used it to slam the taskmaster’s head into the ground.  
Nya saw a knife fly past her and turned to see a taskmaster throwing another knife. The taskmaster launched the knife but Nya blocked it by twirling her trident before throwing said trident at the taskmaster, embedding it deep into his thigh.   
Nya then saw another taskmaster running towards her and noted a fire hydrant. She concentrated and then forced a water geyser to erupt through the hydrant. She used the water to grab the taskmaster in a blob of water. Nya then used the water to throw the taskmaster into a second story fire escape. Nya then directed the water to the taskmaster with the trident in her thigh, she kept blasting him until he was knocked out.   
Nya ran to get her trident but was tackled by a taskmaster. She quickly kicked him away, stood up, and assumed her stance. The Taskmaster threw the right hook, which Nya dodged, and then tried to hammer punch her face with his right hand. Nya caught the fist with her right hand and used her left hand to repeatedly hammer the taskmaster in the chest. Nya then twisted the taskmaster’s right wrist, throwing him to the ground, and repeatedly stomped on his face. Finally, Nya turned the taskmaster onto his chest and broke his right arm.   
Nya then grabbed her trident and heard the sounds of an approaching helicopter. She ducked into an alley way and barely missed the helicopter’s bullets. Nya recovered and radioed Pixal.

“Pixal, you’ve gotta take down those helicopters.”

“Working on it!” Pixal responded as she steered her suit to the helicopter.

The helicopters were surprisingly agile and Pixal was having a hard time taking them out. Right now, she was chasing one helicopter while being chased by the other. Pixal decided to take advantage of her situation and flew backwards into the helicopter. She ripped the rotates and dropped the helicopter, along with its pilot and gunner, onto the squalors below, where it exploded.

“Pixal, be careful!” Skylor radioed in, “That helicopter crash was way too close for comfort.”

“My apologies.” Pixal offered as she went to engage the last helicopter.

Skylor shook her head and turned back invisible. She slowly approached a taskmaster, trying not to make any noise. She reached him and then quickly pulled out his Combat knife from his belt. Skylor then used the knife to slice across the taskmaster’s chest before repeatedly stabbing him in the right shoulder. Skylor then gutted the taskmaster and threw him to the side.   
Skylor then quietly made her way to another taskmaster, all while she was charging her fire blast. When she finally reached her victim, Skylor shot the taskmaster with her overcharged fire blast, sending him flying into a building.  
Another taskmaster saw the giant ball of fire and came over to investigate, missing the invisible Skylor. Skylor and the taskmaster both heard gunshot across the road and saw Ronin firing his shotgun at other taskmasters in a firefight. Skylor watched as the taskmaster started sneaking up on Ronin.   
Skylor charged and kicked the back of the taskmaster’s knees. She then put him in the temple and blasted the taskmaster with a ball of fire, knocking him out.  
Ronin then looked right at her and grinned before going back to shooting. Skylor targeted another taskmaster and ran to him, She punched him in the throat and kneed him in the head. Then she kicked him in the chest and dosed him in flames. Skylor then ran to where Ronin was and saw that they were close to the base..

“Aren’t you just having the time of your life?” Ronin.

“How do you know where I am?” Skylor asked.

Ronin tapped his technological eyepatch, “Thermal vision.”  
Ronin saw a taskmaster sprint at him with a knife and shot him in the knee with his shotgun. The taskmaster fell and Ronin couldn’t help but wonder what his enemy thought would happen by bringing a knife to a gunfight. Ronin then shot the taskmaster twice in the face and turned to face another taskmaster.   
Ronin ran to the taskmaster and slammed him with his shotgun. He then shot the taskmaster in the chest once and pulled the trigger again, only to find that his shout gun was empty. The taskmaster swung at Ronin who dodged it and took out a frag grenade. Ronin then headbutted the taskmaster and shoved the grenade into the taskmaster’s mouth. Ronin pulled the pin and ran into a store to take cover.   
Ronin switched to his scoped UMP and shot a taskmaster three times in the head. He looked over to see Skylor near him and then around him to see the ninja converging on his position. Everyone gathered together and saw the base across the street. They were about to come together when the last helicopter appeared and started firing at them.

Pixal saw the ninja were in trouble and decided to make a risky move. She couldn’t get to the helicopter as it was too maneuverable for her mech to keep up with. Pixal set the mech to return to the bounty and used her jetpack to boost onto the helicopter railing.   
Pixal climbed into the helicopter and threw a knife into the control boards. The pilot tried to keep the helicopter under control while the gunner shot at, and managed to damage, Pixal’s jetpack. She had no choice but to jump out of the helicopter right before it crashed into a building. Pixal fell to the ground only to be caught in a ball of water and gently set down onto the floor.

“You have my thanks, Nya.” Pixal said.

“Don’t mention it.” Nya replied.

The ninja walked to the base and hesitated before entering it.

“Does anyone else think that this is a trap?” Jay asked.

“It’s definitely a trap.” Lloyd confirmed, “Come on, let’s go.”

Sometimes, Lloyd hated being right. He and the ninja had made it to the back room and were immediately surrounded by turrets, six taskmasters, Briggs, Kane, and Zhang. Normally this wouldn’t be a challenge but the room was crowded too much for the ninja to move without getting mowed down. In the center of the room was the machine, the Fate Killer.

“Welcome.” Zhang said sarcastically, “So glad you could make it. Release the flour!” 

Bags of flour tapped to the ceiling were cut open and dropped every. Skylor was covered in flour and as such, was incapable of being truly invisible.

“Ah, there you are.” Zhang said to the floating clump of flour, “Do me a favor and turn yourself visible, I want to see that face of the person who’s caused me so much trouble.

Skylor hesitantly revealed herself and Zhang turned to Lloyd, “Love the outfits, but I need your earpiece. Give it to me now before I kill everyone here.”

Lloyd gave Zhang his ear piece, who radioed to Wu and ordered him and Misako down from the ship. Ten minutes later and the two of them showed up and were detained. Zhang noticed a red blade on Pixal’s back.

“Now first things first, hand over my Katana.” Zhang demanded.

Pixal gave it to Zhang who muttered to himself while checking over the chips and cracks.

“Well, now that we’re all here,” Kane started as she pointed to Lloyd, “I need you to power the Fate Killer.”

Lloyd looked shocked, “Why? Why would I do that”

“Because if you don’t, i’ll kill everyone here. It’s simple, just shoot your energy” Kane responded

Pixal’s minded raced as Kane gave her the last piece of the puzzle.

“Of course.” Pixal said, “That is how you are going to destroy Fate. You are not going to just change time, you are going to create a time paradox, with Lloyd being the subject apparently.”

Kane nodded back in awe of Pixal’s deduction skills, “Impressive. Anyways, you need to power it now or I will kill everyone here.”

“Oh come on Lloyd,” Zhang added, “you’ve already lost one ninja. I know that you don’t want to lose anymore. Just power this up and save what’s left of your team.”

Lloyd didn’t even have to think about it before he stepped forward and shot his energy into the funnel. The Fate Killer was now powered and a green rift opened up. Kane punched in a code and nodded to Briggs.  
Briggs and her group of three taskmasters reached into a bag, pulled out their shots of IDM, and injected themselves with it. Briggs and Zhang nodded at each other as Briggs and her taskmasters walked into the rift. Kane then entered a new code and joined Zhang and His group of taskmasters. Before they walked into the portal, Zhang turned to Lloyd.

“And Lloyd...if you stop powering this machine in any way, a bomb in the city will explode, killing who knows how many people.”

Zhang then pulled out a remote control and pushed it, “By the way, I just injected all of my men with adrenaline so have fun with that.”

At that, Zhang, Kane, and the three taskmasters left into the rift, leaving the ninja surrounded with turrets. Pixal used her internet connection to call the samurai mech suit to her.

“When I say duck, you all must duck.” Pixal announced.

A few seconds later, “Duck!”

The ninja all got down while the suit crashed through the front door and took out the turrets. The ninja got up and examined the Fate Killer.

“You guys have to go after them.” Lloyd declared as he continued to power the Fate Killer.

“But then will you protect you from the taskmasters?” Skylor asked, “Zhang said that he was waking them up so who knows what they’ll try to do. If even half of them are able to fight...”

“Ronin, Wu, Misako, and I will keep Lloyd safe.” Pixal announced.

“We don’t even know where they’re going.” Cole noted.

“Yes we do.” Pixal argued, “They went into two separate time periods. It is a paradox so one of them must have gone back to kill Lloyd’s mother so she could give birth.”

“What?” Jay asked.

Pixal responded with, “I do not have time to explain everything Jay, just trust me.”

“So then what about the other time period?” Nya asked.

“I do not know.” Pixal admitted.

“Ok, so we send two people to save my mom and three people to the other time period since we don’t know what it is.” Lloyd suggested.

“I’ll go save Misako.” Kai volunteered.

“I’ll go with you.” Skylor offered.

Pixal went over to the code keypad area on the Fate and Killer and examined it’s history, “These codes are years! This year is before Lloyd was born so it must be for Misako. This is the one that Zhang’s assistant went into.”

Pixal re-entered the code and motioned for Kai and Skylor to approach the rift.

“Wait!” Cole said, “Zhang’s assistant took shots from that box.”

Kai looked at Skylor, “We don’t know what the hell these things are.”

“Most likely, they are used to counteract the effects of fate.” Pixal guessed.

Skylor and Kai hesitantly to the injection. 

Kai looked at Misako, “We’ll keep you safe, I promise.”

Misako nodded and then Kai and Skylor ran into the portal. As soon as they entered, Pixal scanned for the other year code and gasped.

“This...this is the year of the battle between the Green ninja and the Overlord.” 

“Do you think that’s where they’re headed?” Wu asked.

“If they wanted to break time then yes.” Pixal responded as she set the rift with the code.

Misako spoke up, “I didn’t Kane or Zhang take the shots so I don’t think you three need them.”

Cole, Jay, and Nya looked back at Lloyd, who was still powering the machine, and ran into the rift. All who remained were Lloyd, Wu, Misako, Pixal, and Ronin.

Wu turned to everyone but Lloyd, “Well, it’s up to us four to protect Lloyd from this side.”

“Why do they even want to attack us?” Ronin asked, “That would risk closing the portal.”

“They want to take control of the Fate Killer so they can make sure that Zhang and Kane have a safe return.” Misako guessed.

Pixal looked at Misako, “You can take the suit since you are still injured.”

Misako climbed into the suit and powered it up. Pixal realized that she was out of knives but was offered a stun baton by Ronin who made sure that his UMP and Pistol were fully loaded. Wu took a look at Lloyd who gave him a thumbs up before he readied his bo staff. The four protectors readied themselves as they heard the taskmasters getting ready to attack them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, well since chapter 16 is an epilogue, next chapter will be the penultimate chapter. I'll see you guys then!


	14. Lloyd's paradox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it. The ninja are split across three different times and work to stop Kane from fulfilling her plans to destroy fate once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. I'm sad, the story is ending next chapter. I hope you guys find this climax climactic enough. Enjoy!

Lloyd wiped the sweat away from his brow and looked at the others. His mom was outside the broken building in the Samurai X mech suit. Wu and Pixal stood inside the building with their bo staff and shock baton. Ronin was set up at a window with his UMP, ready to snipe any taskmaster he saw.  
Lloyd wanted to help but he needed to focus on keeping the Fate Killer powered. Zhang claimed that a bomb would go off if he stopped powering it and Lloyd wouldn’t let that happen. Still, he could feel himself tiring as he continued his stream of energy. Instead, Lloyd thought of Kane, the woman who just wanted her family back and the murderer of Zane.  
Lloyd thought about what Kane had said about her family. They had died during Lloyd’s battle with the Overlord. Hmm...during, but if it was during the battle–

“They’re coming!” Misako called out, interrupting Lloyd’s thoughts, “The suit’s scan is showing that there are twenty of them on their way.”

Ronin saw the first of the taskmasters appear and sniped one of them. The rest appeared and Ronin dropped another one with a shot to the throat.  
Misako grabbed a taskmaster and threw her across the street, the taskmaster bounced off the building and fell to the ground. She then grabbed another taskmaster and slammed them into the ground as hard as she could. A taskmaster aimed his rifle at Misako’s head, only to be shot by Ronin. Misako panicked a little as she saw the rest of the taskmasters closing in and kicked one of them into another building.  
The remaining taskmasters then launched their grappling hooks at the legs of the mech and started pulling down the samurai suit.

“Shit.” Ronin cursed as he took his UMP and ran outside.

“Where’s Misako?” Wu asked.

“Stay here, i’m going to get her.” Ronin shouted as he ran outside.

Ronin exited the building and saw that the mech suit had fallen on its side and was being surrounded by the taskmasters. One of them had made it to the opening seat before Ronin gunned him down from behind. He ran up to the seat and helped Misako out of the mech.

“How’re you doing?” Ronin asked.

“Never better.” Misako sarcastically replied before limping away.

Ronin looked to the rapidly approaching taskmasters and picked Misako up before taking off for the building.

“Ok, I know that you like to be independent but with your limp, the taskmasters will catch up to us in no time.” Ronin claimed. 

They ran into the building and were shutting the door when a taskmaster dove in through the widow. He looked up and went to attack Wu with a knife. Wu side stepped to dodge the taskmaster and then hit him in the back of the head with his bo staff. The taskmaster was knocked balance and Wu finished him off with a hard wack to the back of the head.  
Ronin carried Misako to where Lloyd was and set her down before handing her his pistol.

“Looks like you're the last line of defense.” Ronin told Misako before walking back to his post.

“How are you doing mom?” Lloyd asked.

“I’ll live.” Misako answered as she checked the twelve rounds in the pistol, “How are you?”

“I’ve been better.” Lloyd admitted.

“Misako, Ronin, how many taskmasters did you defeat?” Pixal asked.

Misako thought for a second before responding, “Three. I got three of them.”

“Uh–” Ronin counted his fingers, “–three. No, four!”

“And Wu took out one taskmaster.” Misako added

“Then we have twelve more of our ‘friends’ to defeat.” Wu observed.

Just then, the taskmasters started breaking into the building. Ronin readied his weapon when he heard gunshots from outside.

“Damnit, I’m gonna go clear the ranged taskmasters.” Ronin yelled as he ran to a side window.

Ronin checked his UMP magazine, he had a half a clip left. Ronin checked to make sure that he still had his two frag grenades left and then switched his eye patch to thermal vision to see that there were four taskmasters firing at them. Ronin sighed and started trying to draw their attention. They shot at him and he ran outside to confront his four enemies.  
Ronin exited the building and was almost gunned down immediately. He fired randomly and managed to kill a taskmaster while doing so. Ronin took cover behind a pillar and continued to fire shots until his gun ran out. He then threw a grenade at where the taskmasters were. 

“Grenade!” A taskmaster yelled out before an explosion went off.

Ronin cautiously approached and made note of the body of the taskmaster he shot down. When he made it to the explosion site, Ronin found another dead taskmaster and a barely living one. The taskmaster was clearly in pain and had pieces of shrapnel jammed into him. Ronin picked up two of the taskmasters’ riffles and checked the magazines in them. Ronin took both weapons and was about to head back into the build when he heard a weak voice behind him.

“Please…” 

Ronin turned around and saw the injured taskmaster holding out his hand

“Please don’t leave me like this.” The taskmaster painfully whispered.

Ronin shook his head, “I don’t got any of my bandages or any medicine”

The taskmaster somehow managed to show his hopelessness through his mask, “....then, can you end it? Please.”

Ronin aimed his rifle at the taskmaster’s head and said, “You fought well soldier,” before pulling the trigger.

Ronin walked back to the building before stopping, wasn’t there four taskmasters? Ronin quickly turned around when he heard a concerning sound behind him. Ronin turned around and, to his horror, saw the last taskmaster climb into the samurai mech suit. Ronin quickly unloaded his rifle into the taskmaster, not stopping until he was sure the man couldn’t get into the mech suit. After that, Ronin turned around and sprinted into the building.

While Ronin was busy fighting the other taskmasters, eight more taskmasters entered the building and started to surround Pixal and Wu who went into a back to back formation to cover each other. 

“Lloyd, keep all of your energy focused on the Fate Killer.” Misako demanded as she aimed her pistol.

The eight taskmasters circled Wu and Pixal before moving in to attack. Pixal swung her shock baton at the knees of a taskmaster and then his head before using a front kick to push him away. Wu blocked the right hook of a taskmaster with his bo staff before slamming the end of the staff into the taskmaster’s temple and side kicking him back with his left foot. Pixal caught the right wrist of a taskmaster who tried to stab her and twisted it, flipping the taskmaster to the ground. She then hit the taskmaster three times with her shock baton, and kicked him in the face, knocking him out. Wu smacked his staff onto the inner right knee of a taskmaster before jumping up and driving his staff into the taskmaster’s collarbone before punching him with a left uppercut. Pixal used her left fist to hammer the left temple of a taskmaster before shocking and then pushing him away. Wu used his bo staff to sweep the legs of a taskmaster, sending him falling to the floor. Wu then slammed the taskmaster with his staff across the throat and then hit him across the face. Wu used spinjitzu to push back the four taskmasters that were attacking him while Pixal flipped over a taskmaster to get away from her three taskmasters. Now separated, Pixal and Wu started being kept apart by the seven taskmasters.  
Pixal swung at a taskmaster and missed as he ducked under the baton and then stepped to the side to avoid the taskmaster charging at her. The taskmaster ran past her and headed for Wu. 

“Wu watch out!” Pixal warned before being grabbed from behind.

Wu turned around just in time and whacked the taskmaster with a bo staff. He then grabbed the taskmaster’s left arm and broke it by over extending the elbow joint. Wu then slammed his staff against the taskmaster’s jaw one more time and knocked the man out.  
Pixal reached for the man behind her as two more taskmasters approached her. Suddenly, four gunshots rang out and the taskmasters all instinctively dropped to the ground. The taskmaster that was holding Pixal fell to the ground, dead and with bullet holes in his head. Pixal turned to face Misako, who nodded at her before aiming her gun at the other taskmasters. Pixal turned to face her two taskmasters while Wu dealt with his three.  
Wu blocked various strikes from the taskmasters and retaliated by hitting one of them in the face with his staff. One taskmaster went for Wu’s legs while the other kicked at his face. Wu jumped up and flipped backwards to avoid the taskmasters. Wu then used spinjitzu to disorient and throw the three taskmasters across the room.  
Pixal took the opportunity to grab a taskmaster, blown by Wu’s spinjitzu, and threw him to the ground. The taskmaster quickly got up and swung at the samurai.  
Wu slammed a taskmaster into a wall and, after struggling to get up, set his sights on Misako. The taskmaster sprinted to her and was blasted by Lloyd in return. Lloyd shot his energy blast and then doubled over while managing to keep the stream of energy for the Fate Killer going. The taskmaster got up again and ran but was finished off by the five bullets that Misako shot into him.

“Are you ok?” Misako asked.

Lloyd didn’t answer as he recovered his breathing. After a few seconds, he nodded his head.

“I’m fine.” Lloyd said without confidence.

“Lloyd, just...just hang in there.” Misako reassured him.

“I’m trying.”

Pixal stepped back to avoid a taskmaster’s left wheel kick and shocked him on his right knee. The taskmaster fell to the ground and Pixal went for the knockout blow, only to get tackled by another taskmaster. The taskmaster tried in vain to choke the robotic samurai and Pixal jammed her baton into his left temple, shocking him until he crumpled over unconscious.  
Wu caught a taskmaster’s shoulder. The Wu threw the taskmaster into a wall. He turned and was kicked back by another taskmaster. Wu sprinted to the taskmaster and slid on his knees under the taskmaster’s right hook. Wu slid behind the taskmaster and stood up. He then used spinjitzu to throw the taskmaster into a broken and jagged window, rendering him unconscious.  
Just then, the second to last taskmaster gabbed Wu from behind and pressed a knife to his throat. At the same time a taskmaster wrestled the gun from Misako and aimed it at Misako.  
Just then, Ronin burst into the building, distracting everyone. This gave Pixal enough time to throw her shock baton at the taskmaster who was holding Misako at gunpoint. The taskmaster was shocked and Pixal tackled him. She got him to the ground and broke his leg before kneeing him on the face and knocking out the taskmaster. At the same time, Wu grabbed the arm of his taskmaster and spun the knife around so that it stabbed the taskmaster in the back. Wu than used his staff to hit the taskmaster in the head, finally finishing off the last taskmaster

“Is that all of them?” Wu asked.

Pixal did calculations in her head before asking, “Ronin, have you defeated four taskmasters?”

“Yeah.”

“Then yes.” Pixal concluded.

“Hey Lloyd, you’re not looking so hot.” Ronin noted.

Lloyd was starting to look a little pale. He was using his arm to support the other arm that was powering the Fate Killer. Ronin walked over to Lloyd, pulling out a needle.

“Lloyd, i’m gonna inject you with adrenaline, ok?” Ronin said.

“Yeah.” Lloyd responded.

Ronin stuck the needle in and injected the adrenaline into the green ninja. Instantly, Lloyd felt rejuvenated and started bouncing a little.

“That’s not going to work forever,” Misako pointed out, “we have to find the bomb.”

“Ronin, Misako, and Pixal. You must go to the Bounty and look for the bomb.” Wu declared, “I will stay here to watch over Lloyd.”

Misako got up and kissed Lloyd on the forehead before leaning on Ronin as the three of them made their way to the Bounty. Wu watched the Bounty take off and turned to stare into the rift.

“Hurry up ninja, I have faith in you.”

Kai and Skylor were flung from the rift and landed on the sidewalk. It was in the early morning so there weren’t too many people here. 

“You good?” Kai asked as he and Skylor got up.

“I will be when this is all over.” Skylor responded, “Now where are they?”

The two ninja scanned the streets until Skylor pointed to a restaurant, “Look!”

Kai looked where his girlfriend pointed and saw a much younger Misako and Garmadon talking.

“Woah,” Kai said, “Misako’s so young. This must have been before she had Lloyd.”

“Come on, let’s go.” Skylor said as she started to cross the street.

“Wait–” Skylor turned to look at Kai, “we’re wearing ninja gi’s.” Kai observed, “We should disguise ourselves.”

Skylor looked down at her clothes, “Yeah, you’re right. This flour will give me away if I turn invisible.”

Kai and Skylor spotted a thrift shop and quickly scouted the clothing section.

“What year is this?” Kai asked as he held up some out date pants.

Skylor smiled before quickly returning to her search for clothing. They eventually bought some cheap and baggy sweat suits that could fit over their ninja attire. Skylor and Kai then bought matching sunglasses to disguise themselves so that if Briggs managed to see them, she wouldn’t recognize them. The two walked out of the store and headed to the restaurant.  
They walked in and were seated by the waiter at a table parallel to Misako. Miskao and Garmadon sat near each other with Misako talking about a poem of love that Garmadon had given her. They were seated in the corner and seemed to be lost in each other’s eyes. Garmadon looked normal but sickly, clearly the evil venom of the Great Devourer was taking its toll on him. Misako stroked her brown hair as Garmadon took off his jacket. Skylor had to admit, she could never understand how Misako and Garmadon ever happened but seeing Garmadon now, it made sense. Misako had a thing for bad boys and considering that Garmadon had just started showing off his purple electricity of destruction, Skylor put him into the “bad boys” category. Skylor Looked back to see that Kai was boring his eyes into the back of Misako’s head.

“Kai, stop staring. You’re going to give us away.” Skylor whispered.

Kai turned around and saw a woman with short hair coming to service Misako and Garmadon with a food cart covered with a white thick cloth. On top of the food cart was a dish, with a silver tray cover covering it. The familiar looking woman was wearing a uniform for the restaurant. Kai noticed how sloppily it was put on and put two and two together when he saw a holster on her side and the tip of a combat knife coming out of her boots. 

Kai turned back to Skylor, “I think that’s Briggs.” he whispered, “But why is she dressed as a waitress?”

“She’s probably trying to poison them or something.” Skylor guessed.

Kai and Skylor turned away as Briggs walked back into the kitchen with Misako’s and Garmadon’s orders. 

“We’ve gotta stop her.” Kai asserted as he and Skylor got up.

Kai and Skylor waited for Briggs to enter the kitchen before making their move. They walked over to the kitchen window and hid so they weren’t seen. Skylor peaked into the kitchen door window and saw Briggs and three taskmasters in the kitchen with the bodies of two cooks and a waiter on the floor next to them. Before she could see anything else, a taskmaster looked in Skylor’s direction.

Skylor ducked and turned to face Kai, “Briggs and three taskmasters are in there. They killed the staff.”

Kai frowned and gritted his teeth, “We’ve got to stop them. I say we go in there and take them all out.”

Skylor didn’t like the idea but couldn’t come up with a better one. For all she knew, the poisoned food may have been getting ready to be served.

“Ok,” Skylor hesitantly agreed, “we go in and take them out asap.”

The two ninja prepared to fight and slowly opened the kitchen door only to find the kitchen empty. Yet the back door was suspiciously not closed all the way. Kai and Skylor looked at each other and started generating massive balls of fire. The two ninjas then shot their fire to the door, exploding it off of it’s hinges. Somehow, none of the customers noticed the sound.  
Kai and Skylor ran outside to see that the door had flattened a taskmaster, leaving Briggs and two taskmasters scattered on the alley floor from the mini explosion. The three got up and Briggs threw a flashbang grenade at them before taking off down the alley. As the grenade soared to them, Kai blasted it over their heads and away from them as he and Skylor covered their eyes. After the grenade detonated, Kai and Skylor took off down the alley to where Briggs was climbing up a ladder to the roof.  
Skylor ran and slid under the taskmasters while Kai flipped over them. Skylor started climbing the ladder while Kai created a wall of fire to keep the taskmasters back. Kai started climbing the ladder and a taskmaster pulled out a silenced weapon. The taskmaster aimed and shot a weak point in the ladder, sending the bottom part, with Kai down to the alley. Skylor looked down at the ladder to see Kai getting up and looked at her. 

“Go get Briggs! I deal with these two assholes” Kai said as he turned to the two taskmasters.

Skylor turned to see Briggs climb onto the roof and took off up the ladder to go after her.

Kai turned to the two taskmasters and charged at them. He blocked the right hook of one taskmaster away and returned with a hammer punch to the nose. The other taskmaster hit Kai on the right side of his face, to which Kai recovered and tried to hit back. The taskmaster blocked Kai’s left jab and elbow but what knocked to the ground when Kai headbuted him. The other taskmaster pulled out a knife and swung at Kai. Kai dodged the swing and landed a punch to the taskmaster’s face and then his diaphragm.  
Kai was then pushed against the wall by the other taskmaster who then tried to stab Kai in the eye. Kai caught the arm of the taskmaster who missed his mark and now was cutting into his right cheek. The other taskmaster then came and tried to stab Kai in the left leg. Kai caught the knife with his left hand and felt the knife painfully cut into his palm. Kai briefly started to panic and felt both knives deepen into his cheek and leg. Kai moved his head back and pushed the knife that aimed for his check into the wall behind him. Kai then coiled and used all of his strength to push both taskmasters back. The taskmaster ran back to him but Kai then jumped out of the way and allowed his two enemies to crash into each other. Kai got up and used spinjitzu to push both of the taskmasters away from each other.  
Both taskmasters were flung to the ground but quickly started getting back up. Kai heard Skylor scream from far away and resolved to finish this fight quickly.  
Kai landed and then took off to one taskmaster and hit him in the face. Kai turned to the other taskmaster and knocked the other taskmaster with a ball of fire. The taskmaster closest to Kai went on the attack but the master of fire blocked his kick and landed a right and left hook on the taskmaster. Kai then blasted the taskmaster back against the wall with a ball of fire. Kai then set his sight on the other taskmaster.  
Kai ran and Superman punched the taskmaster’s collarbone, breaking it clean. Kai then delivered a left uppercut to the taskmaster’s jaw and slammed his head against the wall three times. Kai then finished him off by punching the taskmaster in the right temple. Then, Kai ran to the final taskmaster and tackled him to the ground. Kai headbutt him twice and stood up. He stomped on the taskmaster’s head twice before kicking him in the ribs. Kai jumped on the taskmaster and put all of his weight into one nasty elbow strike. Kai finally finally knocked out the taskmaster with one final elbow.  
Kai took a second to catch his breath and cauterize his wounds. He then walked over to the broken ladder and used airjitzu to fly up to the roof.

Skylor climbed the ladder and chased Briggs across the rooftop. Briggs jumped onto the next roof with Skylor following closely. Skylor shot a ball of fire at Briggs feet, tripping her and buying Skylor enough time to tackle Briggs off of the roof.  
Skylor and Briggs landed on the lower roof of the next building. They grappled with each other as they got up and pushed each other away. Skylor readied her stance while Briggs pulled her knife out of her combat boot and held it in her right hand.  
Skylor threw a punch aimed for Briggs’ face but was blocked by Briggs’ left arm. Briggs then attacked Skylor with her knife via a forward thrust to Skylor's abdomen. Skylor stepped back to avoid it and then deflected Briggs’ next horizontal swing away from her. Briggs then stabbed at Skylor’s face, Skylor barely dodged it, earning a slice along her cheek instead of her face. Skylor grabbed Briggs’ and swung her around one hundred and eighty degrees and pushed her away.  
Briggs regained her balance and switched her blade into a reverse grip. She swung left to right at Skyolr, who dodged. Then Briggs swung right to left which was also dodged by Skylor. Next, Briggs did an overhead strike with the knife in her right hand which Skylor blocked with both of her hands. Briggs dropped the knife into her free left hand and stabbed Skylor in her right side. Skylor cried out in pain as Briggs pulled the knife out and kicked Skylor away.  
Briggs tried to stab Skylor in the chest with the knife but instead, Skylor grabbed the left hand and kneed it, knocking the knife out of Briggs’ hand. Skylor kicked the knife away and punched Briggs in the throat before pushing her away.  
Skylor blocked Briggs’s right hook and attacked with her own right hook. Briggs dogged the right hook and then the left jab. Skylor then headbutt Briggs and hammed her in the face. Briggs grabbed Skylor and rotated her one hundred and eighty degrees. Briggs punched Skylor twice in her stab wound and then in the face, knocking her to the ground.  
Skylor felt the tears of pain roll down her face, but she knew that she couldn’t lose. If she did, it would mean Misako’s death.  
Skylor got up and turned around to block Briggs’ right hook and punched her in the nose with a left cross. Skylor then pushed Briggs’ right knee, forcing her onto the knee. Finally, Skylor kneed Briggs in the face and winced at the pain her movement caused to her chest wound. Briggs got up and took a second to regain her bearings.  
Briggs swung and was blocked by Skylor who tried to punch her in the jaw. Briggs blocked Skylor’s punch and tried to jab at Skylor’s eye. Skylor dodged and threw a left hook, to which Briggs blocked with her right arm. Skylor caught Briggs’ right arm and threw her so Skylor was behind Briggs.  
Skylor kicked the back of Briggs’ knee and tried to throw her head to the ground. Briggs just rolled backwards and recovered. She then did a wheel kick, which Skylor dodged by ducking under it. Briggs turned around and she and Skylor kicked each other.  
Briggs blocked Skylor’s left uppercut and landed a right jab on her shoulder. Briggs then avoided Skylor’s right jab and ducked under her left hook. Briggs punched Skylor in her stab wound and then hit her in the left temple. Skylor slapped Briggs away and tried to do a front kick. Briggs dodged and then grabbed and shoulder threw Skylor across the roof. Skylor landed and before she could fully recover, Briggs ran up and kneed her back to the ground.  
Briggs grabbed Skylor and started choking her. Skylor felt herself losing consciousness and refused to let this be her end. She jammed her thumb into Briggs’ right eye and burned her face with a fireball.Briggs started panicking and bought Skylor some recovery time. After catching her breath, Skylor swept Briggs’ legs, sending her to the ground. Skylor got up and kicked Briggs in the face before breaking her right arm, ending the fight.

While Briggs was screaming over her arm, Skylor cauterized her wound and saw Kai use his airjitzu to reach the roof.

“Are you ok?!” Kai asked as he checked Skylor’s wound.

“Yeah.” Skylor said as she walked over to Briggs, “You’ve lost.”

Briggs calmed herself down and reached into her left pocket, “Is that what you think?”

“We stopped Misako from eating the poison.” Kai asserted.

“Who said anything about poison?” Briggs asked as she pulled out a detonator.

Skylor thought back when they saw Briggs approach Misako, she had the cloaked tray cart with her. If Briggs had a detonator then the food cart must’ve had a bomb in it.

“No–” Skylor screamed as Briggs set off the bomb.

A massive explosion rocked the buildings as the restaurant was consumed by flames. Briggs smiled and then put the detonator back into her pocket.

“Damnit!” Kai yelled out.

“We-we’ve got to go see if she’s alive.” Skylor claimed.

Kai nodded in agreement and picked up Briggs. Then he and Skylor made their way to the restaurant and climbed down the roofs onto the alley. The ninja entered the back of the restaurant, or what was left of it. The corner that held Misako and Garmadon was blown out into the streets. Skylor and Kai walked to the front outside of the restaurant and found Misako’s body smeared on the ground.

“Oh no.” Skylor said.

There was no way that Misako could’ve survived the explosion. They failed, Kai didn’t even want to go back to the present and live in a world without Misako and Lloyd. Kai turned to Skylor but was then blasted with dark purple lightning from behind. Kai flew against the thrift store and dropped Briggs, who started complaining about her arm. Skylor ran to his side and helped Kai up. Kai stood up but started walking with a limp, his ankle must’ve been sprained. Kai looked up to see who attacked and, to his horror, realized that it was very pissed Garmadon.

“You tried to kill ME?” Garmadon asked, “instead you kill my beloved.”

Garmadon looked a little sad before focusing on Briggs. Skylor turned to see the rift and nudged Kai that way. 

“You, the waiter? Why have you done this?” Garmadon asked, with a voice full of hate and grief at the same time. 

Briggs started to panic as she realized that Skylor and Kai were slowly inching their way to the rift, leaving her stuck with this monster of a man.

“I-I didn’t do anything.” Briggs insisted as Garmadon approached her.

Garmadon grabbed and lifted Briggs by the throat and started searching her. He found the detonator and bore into Briggs’ frightened eyes.

“You killed my beloved. For that, you will die.”

Briggs struggled until Garmadon effortlessly snapped her neck. Only when he dropped her lifeless body to the ground did Garmadon see that Skylor and Kai were running, limping in Kai’s case, to a rift.

“Where do you think you’re going?!” Garmadon yelled as he chased after them.

Skylor reached the rift and then started shooting fire behind them in order to buy Kai more time. Kai felt the energy of Garmadon’s powers right behind him when he reached the rift. Skylor and Kai held each others’ hand and jumped into the rift in order to get away from Garmadon. Kai hesitated to return to his present time. He hoped that somehow Lloyd would still be there, waiting for him.  
Skylor and Kai were flung from the portal and landed at the base of the Fate Killer. Kai got up and ran towards Lloyd and Wu.

“Fuck, i’m glad you’re ok.” Kai exclaimed as he hugged Lloyd.

“Wu, where’s Misako?” Skylor asked.

“She’s on the Bounty–” 

“Call her now.” Skylor demanded.

“...You failed didn’t you.” Lloyd guessed as he pulled away from Kai.

“I’m sorry Lloyd, we lost.” Kai confirmed.

Wu frantically pulled out his radio and called the Bounty, “Misako! Are you there? Please answer me....please.”

A few seconds later a voice was heard over the radio, “Wu? What’s wrong?”

Wu let out a breath, “Oh thank you, you’re safe.”

Skylor formed a puzzled look on her face as she grabbed her cauterized wound, “Why is Miasko still here? I’m not saying that I wanted her gone but we saw her die in the past. Shouldn’t she be, you know, gone? Shouldn’t Lloyd be gone?” 

“I don’t know?” Kai admitted, “Maybe they need Lloyd to lose his first fight with the Overlord?”

“Maybe.” Lloyd responded as he continued to power the Fate Killer.

“Well, whatever the case,” Wu started, “we can only hope that Cole, Nya, and Jay find more success in their mission.”

Zhang and Kane had just finished setting up a sniping post to take out Lloyd when they saw Cole, Jay, and Nya fly through the rift. 

“Damnit.” Zhang exclaimed.

He looked as the three ninja landed on a stairway on the build that was currently the setting for the battle between the past green ninja. Zhang glanced at the ground below them and the stone army that was making their way to the building. He looked over to Kane and the other three taskmasters, who were setting up a sniping post aimed and past Lloyd.

“We’ve got company.” Zhang announced to Kane.

Kane turned around and saw the ninja. She pinched her nose and cursed to herself.

“We’ve got to keep them busy.” Kane said, “I need more time to set up the sniping post.”

Zhang nodded, “I'll take the taskmasters and distract the ninja.”

Zhang pulled out two flashbang grenades and his pistol and handed them to Kane.

“Here, just in case they make it over here.” Zhang said as he and the taskmasters started climbing down the roof via a fire escape.

“Zhang.” Kane called out.

Zhang looked at Kane who continued, “Be careful.”

“Back at you.” Zhang responded as he climbed down the fire escape.

Cole, Nya, and Jay peered over the large ramp and hid from their past counterparts as they tried to guide Lloyd to fight the Overlord.

“We have to find and stop Kane and Zhang.” Cole said, “But we can’t be caught by our younger selves.”

“Way to point out the obvious.” Jay mumbled.

“Where are they?” Nya asked.

She got her answer as bullets whizzed past the ninja and hit the windows besides them. Nya looked out to another building roof top and saw the three taskmasters firing their guns while Zhang stood right beside them, red katana in hand. All at once, the anger rushed to Nya’s mind. There he was, the man who kidnapped Lloyd, who put Kai in jail, who helped break Pixal’s heart, who shot at her and all of her friends. The man who helped murdered Zane. The water ninja gave in to her anger, her desire to protect her family, and started seeing red.

“Zhang!” Nya cried out as she took off.

“Nya don’t!” Jay called but, it was too late

Nya jumped off the building and used airjitzu to the other building. Zhang saw her approaching and sprinted towards main street. Nya landed on the other build and disregarded the taskmasters, preferring to chase Zhang instead.

“I’ve gotta go after her, she’s not thinking straight.” Jay exclaimed as he stood up.

Cole hesitated before responding, “Go! I’ll look for Kane.”

Jay nodded in appreciation and used spinjitzu to travel to the building that housed the taskmasters. Jay figured that the past ninja would be too busy trying not to die to look up and see Jay. Jay landed on the building and, unlike Nya, the three taskmasters responded to his arrival, readying their stances. Jay had to play this safe, he knew that if the taskmasters circled and closed him in, he’d be overwhelmed and it would be game over. Jay noticed that one of them had a pistol so he’d have to be top priority.

The three taskmasters charge at the lightning ninja. Jay ran forward and shot two bolts of lightning at two of the taskmasters. One got hit and was sent flying back while the other dived out of the way. The third taskmaster pulled out his gun but Jay kicked it out of his hand with his left leg. Jay then kicked the taskmaster in the chest before dropping down and sweeping his legs and knocking the 8 down.  
Jay stood up as the other taskmaster approached him. Jay dogged the taskmaster’s right cross and ducked under his left hook. Jay crouched down before launching a right knee into the taskmaster’s ribs. Jay then jumped up and kicked off the taskmaster, knocking him off balance. Jay backflipped to create distance then landed and shot a bolt of lightning at the taskmaster.  
All three taskmasters got up at charged Jay at the same time. Jay tried to flip over them but a taskmaster grabbed on to Jay’s gi. Jay’s lightweight body turned into a detriment as he was flung onto the ground. Jay kicked up just in time to see a taskmaster attack with a front kick. Luckily, he was able to dodge it by backflipping away. He landed and shot lightning at the second taskmaster but was tackled back by the third taskmaster who tackled and knocked him to his back.  
Jay quickly got up and saw the taskmaster pick up the gun. Before Jay could fire his lightning, the taskmaster started firing his 9mm. Jay kept dodging as the taskmaster kept firing shot after shot. He did a side flip, front flip, cartwheel, backflip, and a summersault to avoid the bullets. Jay counted eleven shots, leaving one more round remaining. Apparently the taskmaster knew this because he put his gun away and ran to the lightning ninja. Jay backed up to the edge of the building as taskmasters approached. When one of them got close enough, Jay side flipped and forced the taskmaster to switch his position so that he was now at the edge. Jay then performed a tornado kick and sent the taskmaster flying over the edge of the building. The taskmaster fell onto the fire escape below but was out cold.  
The other two taskmasters grabbed onto Jay and pulled him back to the center roof. Jay rolled backwards into his stance, side flipped away from one taskmaster, and drop kicked the other one. One taskmaster recovered while the other one swung a side kick at Jay but missed when the lightning ninja backflipped from it. The taskmasters then circled Jay to confuse him. Jay calmed himself and heard the taskmaster behind him coming to attack. He cartwheeled to his left and narrowly avoided the kick of the taskmaster but was knocked to the ground when the other taskmaster landed a lucky hit in the jaw. Jay got up and fired two lightning bolts. Both taskmasters were hit by the bolts and Jay ran to one of them. He hit a taskmaster in the face with a flying side kick. The taskmaster flew backwards into the ground and was holding his face in pain. Jay landed and lit up the down taskmaster with lightning. Jay ran to the taskmaster, eager to finish him off. Instead, he was met with a sudden explosion of pain and a loud “BANG”.  
Jay fell to the ground and saw the other taskmaster put his now empty gun away. Jay gripped his right leg and examined the newly made bullet hole as the taskmaster checked on and helped the other taskmaster up. The two taskmasters then walked two the lightning ninja and started beating on him. Jay formed an armadillo position to protect his internal organs and felt the stomps on his side by the taskmasters. With one final kick Jay cried out in pain as he felt a rib fracture. Jay tried to control his breathing to not pass out when the taskmasters rolled him onto his back. One of the taskmasters went to go check on the taskmaster at the fire escape while the other climbed onto Jay and started choking him out.  
Jay struggled as he felt his eyes go bloodshot but his fractured rib and shot leg left him in a less than ideal position to defend himself. Jay felt his consciousness slipping and thought back to his parents, his ma holding him and his pa telling him the story of the village he visited. He thought about what his pa had said to him. 

“Ya say that yer broken Jay, now you have a choice. Do ya stay broken or do ya get help to recover?”

Jay had said he wanted to fix himself and now he was facing the first test of that resolve. These two men were literally trying to break them, just like Unagami, just like his old bullies...just like Nadakhan. No, he wasn’t going to let anyone else break him ever again. He was the lightning ninja, he’d single handedly beaten Nadakhan and Unagami. He survived the bullies. He outlasted the serpentine, Garmadon, Morro, all of them. These two? After all that Jay had been through, he was a survivor, a fighter, and there was no way that these two would be the end of Jay Walker.  
Jay charged the lightning within him. He needed to win this fight to go help Nya and Cole, the two most important people in his world. Jay felt the air around him become static. The taskmaster above him called the other taskmaster over for help but it was too late. With one ear a loud cry, Jay detonated a lightning blast and sent both taskmasters flying back. One landed on the ground safely while the other slammed his head onto the ground and was knocked out  
Jay coughed and regained his breath. He took his time getting up, and had to put most of his weight on his right leg. The taskmaster charged at Jay but the lightning ninja blasted him with a powerful stream of lightning. Jay kept the lightning going until the taskmaster’s armor was smoking. Jay stopped shooting his lightning and the taskmaster fell down, knocked out.

Jay got up and limped his way to where Nya and Zhang were headed. His fiancee needed him and there was no way Jay ws going to let her down, even if he had a broken rib and bullet wound. Every step brought him pain but he wasn’t going to let it break him, not anymore.

Zhang landed by a weapons shop and turned around, only to have a trident fly out of the air and embed his red katana into a brick wall. Zhang turned around to find the water ninja jump down and stare at him.

“You need to pay for your crimes.” Nya coldly said.

“So you’ve traveled through time just to fight me? I’m flattered.” Zhang responded.

Nya shook her head with dead seriousness, “No...i’m here to make sure you never hurt anyone again.”

Zhang let out a laugh, “So that’s it huh? Solve all your problems through murder? I get it. I solve all my problems that way.”

Zhang walked into the weapons shop and pulled out two katanas, “I’d say lets get our weapons but frankly, my katana would slice through your trident easily. And i’m trying to have more fun than that.”

Zhang dropped one of the katanas and slid it over to Nya, who picked it up and checked out its weight. She twirled it to get a feel as she felt her anger taking control of her. The two opponents circled each other as Zhang continued talking.

“I like you,” Zhang started, “you understand how our world works. I’ve been telling Kane that one must become worse than their enemy to win. That to win, you have to be willing to do whatever is necessary, even give up your own morals. I’m glad to see that you’re subscribing to such philosophies.”

Zhang looked at both ends of the main street and saw rows of stone soldiers approach them from afar. He then looked at Nya who seemed to be on the verge of exploding.

Zhang readied himself in a stance, “I think i’ve talked enough.” he said with an evil smile, “Come on, let’s see how much fight you have in you.”

Nya finally let her anger take over as she screamed and charged. She jumped into her attack and did an overhead strike on the left side of Zhang’s head. Zhang blocked the attack and started walking backwards. Nya brashly swung her katana at Zhang’s left temple, which he blocked. Then Zhang blocked Nya’s attempt to hit him on his left temple. Nya then attacked Zhang’s right temple and was once again blocked by Zhang. Zhang blocked Nya as she swung at his left hip and his right hip.  
Zhang then went on the offense as he did an overhead strike on Nya, who blocked it with ease. Zhang then tried to slice Nya’s left neck but missed as she dodged it. Zhang tried an overhead strike again and Nya blocked that one as well. Zhang attacked Nya’s right neck and was parried by the water ninja. Zhang twirled his katana, waiting for Nya to attack and when she did with a forward thrust, stepped to the side while slamming her katana down to the ground. Zhang then slid his katana up hers and tried to slice at Nya’s neck. Nya ducked under it and stepped to the left as Zhang tried to hit her with an upwards strike.  
Zhang turned to face Nya as she attacked him with a right hit, then a left hit, and then another left hit, all of which Zhang blocked. Nya then did an overhead strike and clashed with Zhang’s katana. Zhang spun around and threw the katana behind him, knocking Nya off balance. He turned around and swung at her feet. Nya dodged that attack as well as the one aimed for her chest, she then tried to do an overhead strike again. Zhang clashed his katana with Nya’s and pushed it hard to the left, trying to disarm her. Nya held onto her weapon and barely received a cut when Zhang brought his katana back in for a kill shot. Zhang then reached behind and blocked Nya, who tried to stab him in the back. Zhang hooked Nya’s katana and threw it over himself. Then Zhang tried to slice at Nya’s neck but missed.  
Zhang flourished his katana and rotated it behind his back while turning his back to Nya to catch her off guard. He quickly turned around and clashed with Nya’s katana in an overhead strike. Zhang pushed and then took a step back he blocked an attack that was meant for his right neck and swung at Nya’s left shoulder. Nya blocked it and both opponents backed off of each other to catch their breaths. The stone army, while still a ways off, was slowly but surely closing in.

“So emotional.” Zhang teased as he and Nya circled each other, “You that letting your emotions control you will get you hurt right?” 

Nya screamed and violently swung at Zhang’s left side, only to be blocked by his katana. Nya then swung to Zhang’s right side and, after being blocked, went for his left leg. Zhang blocked the leg attack and twirled his katana and then attacked Nya with an overhead strike, an upper strike, a left attack and finally a right attack. Nya blocked, dodged, and parried all of these before sidestepping Zhang’s forward thrust attack. Zhang used his forward thrust to lead into a backwards thrust and completely missed Nya. Nya swung at Zhang’s neck and he leaned back to avoid the blade before pushing it to the ground with his katana. He tried to punch Nya with his left hand but she caught it and kicked him back. Now frustrated, Zhang attacked Nya with a side swipe and raised his katana in an overhead stance before attacking.  
Nya met his blade three times before backing up and recklessly charging forward. Nya swung at Zhang’s neck and he ducked down under the swing and grabbed Nya’s right hand, which had her katana. Nya grabbed at Zhang’s katana but he pulled it away, kicked her knee, and slashed right above her eye. Zhang kicked Nya back as she started to feel the blood rush down her face and block her vision.

“I told you.” Zhang teased before striking down with his katana. 

Nya blocked it and tried desperately to see where Zhang was but with one good eye, her depth perception was off. Zhang kicked Nya in the stomach and started mercilessly beating down on her katana with his blade. Nya felt her anger wear off and be replaced with fear as Zhang grabbed her blade and tried to slit her throat. Nya grabbed Zhang’s blade and they both struggled in a stalemate. Zhang inched his blade closer to Nya’s neck and the water ninja knew that she had to shake up the situation. Nya stepped back and launched both katanas to the ground before punching Zhang in the jaw.  
Zhang stumbled back, clearly surprised before yelling in anger and returning to attack. Nya noted Zhang’s aggression and decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. Unbeknownst to either of them, the stone army was closing in on them.  
Nya struck at the left side of Zhang’s neck but Zhang blocked it and sliced at her knee. Nya stepped back to avoid it and started thrusting at various parts of Zhang’s body. Zhang backed up as Nya advanced on him. Zhang felt himself hit the wall of the shop and side flipped to get away from a dangerous situation. Zhang landed and started clashing with Nya, sending sparks flying around them. Nya swiped at Zhang’s feet but he jumped over the blade and kicked Nya in the face. Nya fell back and Zhang twirled his katana in a prideful manner before moving in to attack.  
Nya was tempted to give in to her anger as she and Zhang exchanged attacks and counterattacks. But that only succeeded in giving her one blood covered eye, she had to go about this differently. Nya thought about the fight from her nemesis’ perspective as she slid under Zhang’s attack and formed her stance. Zhang expected to win this, he was counting on Nya slipping up and giving him an opening. But Nya saw the times when she caught him off guard, he saw red as she saw red. Nya needed to get Zhang angry but the only way to do that was to get him to slip up.  
Nya rolled out of the way and managed to nick Zhang on his left leg. His eyes drew daggers as he charged at her. That was it, she needed to use her strengths against him. Nya’s counter attacks were near perfect, but her attacks weren’t. She had let her anger make her reckless and aggressive. But if she was aggressively defensive, if she forced Zhang to do the attacking, that would give her the upper hand.  
Nya waited for Zhang to attack her and when he did she dodged and swiped at his throat. Zhang blocked the strike but Nya was already working on her next encounter. She kicked him in his right hip and slashed down on his shoulder. Zhang stumbled back and looked at his new scar and scowled before overstriking at Nya. Nya dodged out of the way, picked up a rock off the ground and threw it at the back of Zhang’s head. He reactively grabbed the back of his head and found that blood was leaking.

“So that’s it?” He aggressively called out, “Resorted to rocks?!”

“It’s not my fault if you can’t fight for shit.” Nya taunted.

Zhang screamed and started swinging at Nya. Zhang managed to slice Nya’s right leg and did an overhead strike. Nya blacked it and the two fighters locked their swords in a dramatic katana clash. Zhang started overpowering Nya and smiled maliciously at her. Nya waited and then kicked Zhang in the balls and slashed him across his forehead.  
That was all it took as Zhang lost it. He caught his second wind as he swung at Nya with reckless abandon. Nya blocked and avoided Zhang’s attacks until he slashed at her hip. Zhang then grabbed Nya by the collar and proceeded to slammed the butt of his katana into her temple over and over again before kicking her to the ground. Nya felt her head ringing and struggled to get up.

“So much for being a ninja.” Zhang said before launching into one last attack.

Zhang jumped up for an overhead strike aimed at Nya’s head. Nya regained her senses and grabbed her katana. Right as Zhang swung down, Nya swung up and sliced off Zhang’s right hand in one swift move.  
Zhang fell down, gripped his right arm, and started screaming in pain as Nya recomposed herself. Nya got up and walked over to the wall. She pulled both her trident and Zhang’s chipped red katana and approached Zhang as the stone army drew even closer. Nya kicked Zhang in the chest and held her trident to his throat.

“Where’s the bomb?” Nya demanded.

Zhang composed himself and said, “...the bomb? What bomb?”

Nya kicked him again and exclaimed, “The bomb that’ll go off if the Fate Killer stops being powered, where is it?!”

Zhang let out a delirious laugh before answering, “There was no bomb, we only bluffed to make sure the green boy scout would let us back.”

Nya would normally refuse to believe Zhang but something in his eyes told her that he was telling the truth. 

“I should kill you.” Nya stated as she readied her trident.

Zhang got on his knees and looked Nya in the eye, “Do it.”

“Nya don’t!” A voice called out.

Nya turned around confused only to find Jay using airjitzu to land on main street. Except that Jay landed and collapsed to the ground. 

“Jay!” Nya cried out as she went to check on him.

Nya noted the bullet wound and the broken rib as she examined Jay.

“What happened?” She asked.

“A run in with that taskmaster.” Jay answered, “Don’t worry though, i’m fine.”

“It sounds like no matter how hard you try you can never stop your friends from getting hurt.” Zhang taunted.

Nya started to stand when Jay grabbed her hand, “Don’t, please.”

“Why not? He deserves it.” Nya argued.

“It’s not worth your soul.” Jay retorted.

“Protecting you guys is worth it.”

“No, it’s not. Not to me, not to Zane–”

“Zane’s dead because of me.” Nya said, her eyes filling up with tears.

“Zane’s dead because Zhang and Kane put a bomb in him and blew him up. You had nothing to do with it.”

“I just wanted to protect you guys…”

“You can’t Nya, we’re ninja, we’re always in danger. It doesn't matter how many bad guys we beat, more will always show up. Zane knew that, he knew that every battle could be his last fight and yet he still went because that is what we do. Zane’s a hero, we’re all heroes. Not because we kill the bad guys, but because we take that risk to protect everyone else. Zane died doing what he loved, and he wouldn’t want you losing yourself just to avenge him.”

Nya started bursting into tears as she hugged Jay, “I miss him so much.”

“I know but we need to preserve his memory, not stain it with blood.”

Nya stood up and saw that the stone army was dangerously close to her, Zhang, and Jay. She wiped away her tears and walked over to Zhang.

“Finally found the strength to end it?” Zhang teased.

Nya shook her head, “No, i’m not going to kill you.”

Nya then quickly stabbed her trident into Zhang’s left leg, slicing up his hamstrings and tearing his ACL. Zhang howled in pain as the stone army was almost in reaching distance.

“I won’t kill you.” Nya said as she threw the red chipped katana to Zhang’s feet, “But I’m not going to save you either.”

With that, Nya picked up Jay and used airjitzu to carry them away. Zhang stood up on his one good leg and gripped his red, cracked, and chipped katana in his left hand. He looked in fear and saw that the stone army had completely surrounded him. Zhang decided to go out fighting and swung against a stone soldier with all his might...and completely shattered it on contact. Zhang fell to the ground, completely defeated with his broken sword, and accepted his fate as the stone army ripped him into shreds, ending the leader of the taskmasters.

Jay took off to go get Nya and Cole ran up the stairway to hide from past Lloyd and Kai. It seemed that the rest of the ninja had been turned to the darkness so he didn’t have to worry about them. Cole ran to the roof and used airjitzu to fly and land on the stairwell behind them. Cole turned around to see past Cole and Jay, corrupted with darkness and fighting...Zane?  
The younger ice ninja was showing impressive skill as he took on both the earth and lightning ninja. What he didn’t see, however, was the giant cloud that was descending onto him. Cole acted on instinct and tackled the younger Zane out of the way before he could be corrupted by the darkness. They landed on a lower section of the staircase and Zane started fighting what he thought was a corrupted Cole.

“Zane...Zane stop it’s me, it’s me.” 

Slowly Zane stopped fighting and stood up to look at Cole. Cole rushed in and hugged the nindroid.

“I’ve missed you so much. I’m so sorry.” Cole said through his tears.

“Cole, what is going on? Not two seconds ago, you were corrupted, and now you are here?”

Cole pulled back to see Zane scanning him and spoke up, “It's a long story.”

“You are a version of Cole from the future.” Zane guessed.

Cole looked at the ice ninja surprised, “how did you–”

“Your facial features indicate that you are roughly ten or eleven years older then the Cole I know.” Zane explained, “What I am unsure of is your reasoning for time travel.”

Cole thought for a second, he could take this Zane back in time with him. They could be a full team again, he could be honest with Zane. He could have a do over.

“Zane, you have to–” Cole was cut off by Zane.

“No, it is imperative that you do not alert me to any future event, lest we collapse the timeline.”

“No Zane, you don’t get it, you–”

“Under no circumstances can I know.” Zane insisted, “Under no circumstances can you do anything to change the timeline.”

Cole sighed, he had a chance to resurrect his brother. What was so wrong with that? But there was something wrong with it. As much as Cole didn’t want to admit it, this couldn’t work. This Zane had to stay here to keep the timeline intact. Cole saw another cloud of darkness falling to them.

“Zane, please.” Cole said. 

“Hey,” Zane hugged Cole, “do not worry, I will be there for you, always.”

“I know.” Cole responded before he threw Zane into the cloud of darkness. 

After a few seconds, a corrupted Zane popped out and forced Cole to use airjitzu to get away from him. Cole flew to the top of the building and saw that past Kai had just started fighting past corrupted Nya. Cole avoided the Overlord’s gaze and saw Kane as he rounded the corner of the building. Cole traveled to the building that Kane was on and landed a few feet from her as past Lloyd reached the top of the building. 

“Kane, you have to stop this!” Cole yelled out.

“Not when i’m so close!”

“Please, I know what it’s like to lose your family. It sucks but you can overcome it. Let me help you.”

Kane responded by firing two shots at Cole and throwing a flashbang grenade at him. Cole dodged both bullets but was blasted with the grenade. Kane knew that she had a few seconds to put off her plans and aimed her pistol at past Lloyd. She fired all of her shots at him and felt relief when she saw him fall to the floor, struck with a bullet.

“What did you do?” Cole asked as he recovered, “What did you do?!”

“I did it.” Kane whispered to herself. “I did it!”

Cole walked over and grabbed her by the shoulders, “You’ve just put all of Ninjago at risk!”

A large shaking suddenly occurred as the Overlord laughed at his victory. The shaking caused the building to collapse and Kane fell off. Cole dived off the building and caught Kane. He then used airjitzu to fly them back to the staircase and landed just as Nya and an injured Jay showed up. Kane thought about using her last flashbang against the ninja but decided against it. Cole dropped Kane and, with one precise strike, knocked her out. 

“Jay, are you ok?” Cole asked.

“Cole, what happened?” Nya asked.

“She did it.” Cole answered, “She shot Lloyd, past Lloyd I mean.”

“What?!” Jay asked.

“She won!” Cole exclaimed out of frustration.

“There must be some way to help him.” Nya suggested. 

“Yeah, we’re not out of the count yet.” Jay encouraged.

Cole shook his head, “Fine, let’s go kill an Overlord.”

Cole picked up Kane and then joined Nya and Jay as they used airjitzu to reach the top of the building. They got there and saw Lloyd, bleeding from his throat, being overshadowed by the Overlord.

“Poor little Lloyd.” The Overlord hissed, “No friends, no power, bleeding out as we speak. In this moment of my victory, I will be merciful and offer you a choice. How would you prefer to die?”

Lloyd gargled before speaking up, “No.”

The Overlord was clearly taken aback, “You dare reject Me?! I control everything now, you have no choice but to spend the last seconds of your worthless life begging for my mercy!”

Lloyd covered his bullet hole and charged up his power, “You...you will never win. If I can’t beat you, then maybe I can contain you.”

Light started radiating from Lloyd’s hand and the Overlord started to be pulled to him.

“What? No, that’s not possible. NO!”

“What’s he doing?” Jay asked.

“Is...Is he absorbing the Overlord?” Cole asked.

“Guys we’ve gotta get out of here.” Nya pointed out.

Past Lloyd used the last of his strength to pull the Overlord into him, using his own body as a cage. Past Lloyd started screaming in pain and the three ninja took off. They felt evil in the air. Cole didn’t know what it was but every cell in his body told him to get away from this palace, and he was all too happy to comply. When they reached the rift, the ninja heard a dark, evil laugh. 

“That’s our que!” Jay said as he and Nya jumped through the rift.

Cole held on to the still unconscious Kane and jumped through the rift as well.

Kane, Cole, Jay, and Nya were flung from the portal and landed on the hard floor of the building. Nya checked on Jay while Cole set Kane down and looked up to see Kai, Wu, Skylor, and Lloyd waiting for them besides the Fate Killer. Lloyd looked as though he was going to pass out. Cole sat up and felt...freed, like he could do anything he wanted.

“What happened?” Kai as he ran to Jay’s side.

“Lloyd,” Nya said somberly, “you can stop powering the Fate Killer, there's no bomb.”

Lloyd stopped powering the machine and immediately passed out. Skylor caught him and gently lowered him onto the ground.

“Cole…” Wu hesitantly asked, “what happened?”

“I’m sorry sensi, we failed.” Cole answered, “Kane changed the past so that Lloyd lost the battle with the Overlord.”

“We fucked up our mission too.” Kai said, “Past Misako was killed. Kane won”

“And yet she’s still alive.” Skylor asked, “How is that even possible?”

“Right,” Jay added, “The timeline should be screwed right now so why does everything look so, normal?”

“I don’t, but maybe we should ask her.” Kai said as he pointed to a now waking Kane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that there's a part y'all felt really cathartic about. Next chapter is a resolution to the story. I'll also try to include the epilogue so you guys don't have to wait another week for that. See you next week (for the last time).


	15. Fate unraveled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja confront Kane on her actions and deal with their own issues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is it, the final chapter, besides the epilogue.

Kane stood in the middle of her home, everything was where it should be. The t.v. was on and showed news of the ninja returning from Prime Empire. The light from the windows were so blinding that Kane couldn’t see out of them. The kitchen smelled of grilled chicken and rice, Kane’s favorite candles were lit, and it was all perfect. Everything felt delirious and dreamlike as she walked to her daughter’s room. She knocked on the door before just heading in.  
The room was exactly how she remembered it, designed for a small child. It was cluttered and there were crayons everywhere. But the woman in the room wasn’t a small girl, she was a teen. The girl turned around and sadly smiled at Kane.

“Hey mom.” Marie said.

Kane rushed in and hugged her daughter while crying, “Oh god. I’ve missed you so much.”

Kane took in her daughter’s height and asked, “Is this a dream?”

“Yes.” Marie answered in a monotone voice.

Kane didn’t care if she was in a dream, she wanted to enjoy it as long as she could. Kane felt tears run down her face as she embraced her daughter as tight as she could. She was the happiest woman in the world. Or, she would've had she not noticed that Marie was not embracing her mother back. Kane pulled back to see...was that disappointment on Marie’s face?

“Marie, what’s wrong sweetie?” Kane asked, a little unnerved.

“You’re a killer.” Marie bluntly stated.

Kane’s smile wavered as she was caught off guard, “What?”

“You’re a killer. You killed someone, why?”

“What are you talking about?” Kane asked, “Aren’t you happy to see–”

“The ice ninja. You killed him. Why?”

“I..I–”

“Why?” Marie asked harshly.

“For you.” Kane answered, “For you and your father. Everything I did was to save you two.”

“What makes you think we would want that?” Marie asked in a slightly distorted voice.

“You’re alive now, why wouldn’t you want that?” Kane asked.

“I don’t even recognize you.” Marie said, “Neither does dad. When we look at you, we only see the monster who murdered the ice ninja. You say that you did these...things for us, what makes you think that we wanted you to poison our legacy like that?”

“I–it doesn’t matter what you would’ve wanted. It doesn’t matter anymore. All that’s important is that you’re both alive now.”

“Are we?” Marie asked as she started fading away.

Everything grew brighter as Kane looked around for her daughter.

“MARIE!” Kane screamed as everything turned white.

Kane’s eyes fluttered before opening up. She gripped the flashbang that Zhang had given to her, she had used one on the earth ninja which left her with one left. Kane took a second to stretch and get her bearings before sitting up. She rose and found herself staring directly into the eyes of a very pissed off fire ninja.

“You have a lot fucking explaining to do you bitch.” Kai hissed. 

Behind Kai was Nya, Skylor, Wu, Jay, Cole, and an unconscious Lloyd. They were all discussing each of their missions for trying to stop Kane. Cole, Jay, and Nya had finished their story of trying to get past Lloyd to win the battle and Skylor talked about trying to save the life of past Misako.

“Where are Zhang and Briggs?” Kane asked.

“Dead.” Skylor answered, “Briggs got killed by Garmadon.”

“Zhang got ripped to shreds by the stone army.” Nya added, “You’re all alone Kane.”

“I believe that it is time you tell us what you have done.” Wu claimed.

Kane’s first instinct was to not reveal her plan to them. But her plans were done, she’d won. She had destroyed fate and nothing was ever going to change that. She decided that there was no point in keeping secrets anymore.

“I used Lloyd to create a time paradox to destroy fate.” She answered.

“How?” Jay asked.

“The Law of Conservation of Mass says that matter cannot be created or destroyed.” Kane started, “Dark matter makes up fate but there’s only enough dark matter for one timeline. When I created the paradox, fate tried to solve the problem by creating three separate timelines. One timeline where Misako died before she could have Lloyd, one where Lloyd lost his battle against the green ninja, and one where everything happened as normal. Fate stretched itself too far trying to be in all three timelines and snapped apart like a rubber band does when it’s stretched too far.”

“So that’s what happened?” Skylor asked, “Briggs killed off Misako and made Lloyd lose against the Overlord? And this is what destroyed fate?”

“Yes.” Kane confirmed.

“Well then why is everything normal?” Cole asked, “If we changed the past, then shouldn’t our present be changed too?”

Kane shook her head, “No. By changing those events, we created different timelines. When Briggs killed Misako, she created a new timeline where Lloyd was never born. When I made Lloyd lose the battle, I created another timeline where Lloyd lost to the Overlord. When we made those events happen, we formed new timelines. And when you guys returned, you didn’t just come from the past, you came from the past of a different and newly formed timeline. We’re in the normal timeline where Misako lived to give birth to Lloyd and Lloyd was able to beat the Overlord.”

“So we’re in the normal timeline, but what happened to the other timelines?” Nya asked.

Kane shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know. They’ve probably collapsed.”

“And you know that how?” Kai challenged.

“I don’t.” Kane admitted, “But that doesn’t matter, fate is destroyed. I can feel the lack of dark matter in the air. I can feel the IDM inside me relax, there’s no dark matter to rile it up. There is no more fate.”

The ninja took in their failure as Kane recapped the events that occurred today.

“Why did you save me?” Kane quietly asked.

“What did you say?” Jay asked.

“Why did you save me?” Kane asked while looking at Cole, “I fell off of that building and yet you saved me. After everything i’ve done to you and your friends, why?”

“We help others when we can.” Wu answered, “We don’t kill or let our enemies die if we can help it. Perhaps, that is a lesson you could benefit from learning.”

“I’m not proud of what I did but because of my actions Ninjago is free. No one is forced to live a shity life anymore, and I did that.”

“Aaaand she’s still on her high horse.” Kai responded.

“Maybe we should push her off of it.” Skylor suggested.

“It’s not me being on a high horse, i’m telling the truth. Everyone is free now and it only took a few lives to reach the goal. The end justifies the means, simple as that.”

Cole stepped forward aggressively, “You watch your mouth, the people you killed are worth a hundred of you. Zane was worth a thousand.”

“Huh, ‘the ends justify the means’.” Skylor said, “My father said something very similar before he tried to take over Ninjago.”

“Talk all you want,” Jay started, “you’re nothing but a villain.”

“I’m not a –” Kane started before pausing. She wasn’t a villain, was she? Kane could deny but she’d also be lying to herself. 

“I just wanted to save my family.” Kane admitted. 

And she did save them. Now that fate was destroyed, her family would be back home and were probably waiting for her.

“Doing bad things for good reasons doesn’t make you a hero.” Kai stated, “It just means that you’re too fucking incompetent to realize that you’re the villain.”

“And what’s your excuse?” Kane asked, “I’ve done bad things but at least I didn’t sell drugs.”

“No you didn’t. You just robbed, kidnapped, allowed for torture and murdered someone.” Nya pointed out.

Kane turned to the water ninja, “And what about you? How long until you decide that you get to start killing people? How long until you decide that the world needs another serial killer?”

“I’m not going to become a killer,” Nya answered, “i’m not going to become like you.”

Kane let out a soft and sad laugh, “I used to think the same thing.” 

“Well it doesn’t matter what you think.” Kai started, “You’re right, I fucked up big time. Now, just like me, you’re going to go to prison.”

“Ok, fine.” Kane agreed, “But first, please let me see my family.”

“Y-you’re fucking with me right??” Kai asked before turning to his girlfriend, “She’s fucking with us right?”

Skylor shook her head, “No, I don’t she is. I think that she expects us to let her see her family even after she took one of our own from us.”

Kane panicked a little, “Look, I know that I killed Zane, I know that I took him from you. But please, let me see them just one more time. Please, i’ll do whatever you want. I’ll surrender unconditionally just...just please let me see them.”

“You can see your family when we see Zane again.” Jay snarked at Kane.

Kane looked down at the floor, they weren't going to let her see her family. After all of this, there was still one more obstacle for Kane to face, the ninja themselves.

“You won’t keep me from them…” Kane said before throwing her last flashbang grenade.

The ninja backed up and were blasted while Kane took off out of the building. After a few seconds, the ninja regained their senses and saw that Kane was gone.

“If I get blasted with one of those things one more time, I will burn the whole fucking city down.” Kai exclaimed as he got up. 

“What happened?” A tired voice asked.

Everyone turned around to find that Lloyd had awoken and was sitting on his knees. He also looked like he could pass out at any moment. 

“Lloyd!” Kai said as he ran to the green ninja.

Kai hugged Lloyd before helping him up. Lloyd stood up but had to lean on Kai for support as he addressed the ninja.

“What happened? Where’s Kane?”

The ninja filled Lloyd in on everything. The paradox, the timelines, and Kane’s victory. They told him about their conversation with Kane and how she had just gotten away from them. 

“She went to her old house.” Lloyd concluded.

The ninja turned to him and Jay asked, “How do you know?””

“If I thought my father was still alive, I’d go exactly where I thought he’d be.” Lloyd responded.

“All right, well let’s go get her.” Cole suggested.

“No.” Lloyd said, “I’m going on my own, Kane and I need to have a personal one on one.”

“You can barely stand.” Nya pointed out.

“All the more reason for me to go.” Lloyd argued, “If we all show up, Kane will panic like a cornered animal. If she sees me alone, especially when I look like this, She’ll probably be more reasonable.”

“Or she’ll attack you.” Kai acknowledged, “Lloyd, we can’t lose another ninja.”

“You saw Kane.” Nya started, “She was cooperating with us until we threatened to take her away from her family. I don’t think she’ll attack because she’s so laser focused on them.”

“...I don’t know.” Kai said with hesitation.

“Remember what happened to us when we thought our parents might still be alive?” Nya asked, “We pretty much dropped everything we were doing to find them, I think that Kane is going through the same thing right now.”

“Nya might be onto something.” Wu offered, “Perhaps if Lloyd acted with patience and caution, no more blood will be spilled today.”

Kai shook his head, “Fine, but I don’t like it.”

Lloyd nodded and stumbled out of the building. He called up the commissioner and had them sent to the address of Kane’s old home. Lloyd then managed to conjure up his dragon and took off.

Kane nearly sprinted straight into the front door of her old home. She was excited, too excited to see them. Yes the ninja would have her taken away but that was a bridge to cross later. She took a second to regain her breath before walking to the side of the front porch. Kane reached under a rock and pulled out her spare house keys. She stood up and unlocked the front door. Kane took a deep breath and entered her old house. 

“David!” Kane called as she entered the home.

The first thing that surprised Kane was the amount of dust in the air. David was no clean freak but he’d never let things get this bad. The air was stuffy and stale as Kane entered the kitchen. The plates were in the dishwasher but were covered in cobwebs. The table was on the verge of falling apart and Kane felt her hopes being replaced with a pit in her stomach.  
Her heart rate elevated as she wandered through the desolate house. 

“David? Marie?” Kane half heartedly called out.

Kane reached Marie’s room and slowly opened it. The room was dirty, stuffy, and looked to have a spot of mold growing in the top right corner. 

“No…” Kane whispered to herself as she gripped her stomach.

Where were they? They should be here, so where were David and Marie? Kane fell onto her knees and threw up onto the black carpet. She felt the pit in her stomach enlarge and she didn’t know what to do.

“You’re family's not here Kane.” A tired voice called out.

Kane looked behind her to find that Lloyd was sitting in David’s old rocking chair. He looked worse for wear but Kane didn’t want to take any chances knowing that the ninja were probably close. 

“There’s a hole in your plan Kane,” Lloyd gritted through his teeth, “but I think you already knew that.”

“What do you mean?” Kane harshly asked, “What do you do with my family?”

“They’re not here Kane, they’re dead.”

“What? No. No that’s not....you’re lying!” Kane accused as she tried to hold back her tears.

“They’ve always been dead,” Lloyd calmly continued, “and your plan was always destined to fail.”

“My plan didn’t fail.” Kane insisted, “I’ve been planning this for five year. It didn’t fail.”

Lloyd looked around the clearly abandoned house, “Clearly. Anyways, I was thinking about your plan while I was being forced to power up your time machine. Your past, the day when your family died. They died during my battle with the Overlord.”

Kane crossed her arms, “What’s your point?”

“You said that fate only sets up the battles, but it doesn’t work while the battles themselves are going on. If that’s true, then your family died during the battle and wasn’t killed by fate. Fate didn’t decide their deaths, nothing did. You guys just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Kane felt as if her entire being had just been ripped apart, “What? No, I– I wouldn’t have missed something that big...there’s no way I–” 

“Yes there is a way you missed it.” Lloyd interrupted, “It’s simple, you chose to miss it.”

Kane looked at Lloyd with disgust, “How dare you–”

“You knew that fate had nothing to do with it. But you were so willing to believe that something actively sought out to kill your family that you spent all this time not noticing a fatal flaw in your plans.”

“No...no no no no No!” Kane slammed her fist against the wall as she realized the futility of the situation.

“I think that you subconsciously ignored that little fact because you couldn’t accept the idea that they just died for no reason, with no purpose. And instead of grieving, you put our entire world at risk.”

Kane starred at Lloyd, desperately searching for any justification for her actions, “But fate set up the battle. Had the battle never happened, my family would still be alive!”

“Fate didn’t kill your family Kane!” Lloyd yelled, “A stone soldier did, nothing will ever change that.”

Kane finally fell to the floor and started crying. She didn’t get it, she gave everything for this mission. She robbed, she kidnapped, she...she murdered. Oh god, she was a murderer. Kane spent almost ten years planning this and it was all for nothing....nothing.

“I just wanted to see my family again.”

Lloyd stared at Kane unsympathetically before responding, “When I was locked up with Zane in that cell, do you know what one of the last things he said to me was? He said that he wanted nothing more than to be reunited with Pixal, his fiancé. All he wanted was to be with his family and yet, you killed him like he was nothing.–” Lloyd angrily balled his fists before releasing them, “–And now, you want me to show you mercy when you showed my brother none. You took him away from his family just like the stone army took your family away from you.”

Kane looked at Lloyd, hoping for sympathy but knowing she didn’t deserve it, “What are going to do with me?”

Lloyd stood up and approached Kane, “You’re going to jail for robbery, kidnapping, and murder.”  
Kane looked to the backdoor, she could make a run for it, as futile as it would be. But when she barely took a step towards the back door, and energy balls launched her up against the wall. Kane fell to the floor and looked up to see Lloyd with an emotionally angry face. Lloyd reached Kane and pulled her to her feet before gripping her wrist and looking her in the eye.

“I never take pleasure in other people’s suffering.” Lloyd spoke while trying to control himself, “But i’m going to enjoy knowing that you are going to spend the rest of your miserable, pathetic life rotting in a cell. I’m going to enjoy knowing that you’re going to be locked away with nothing and no one but your regrets to keep you company. That you are a complete failure who couldn’t even save her own family.“

At that, Kane started crying as Lloyd pulled her out the front door and waited. They stood outside and Lloyd let Kane drop to the ground where she continued balling her eyes out. After about ten minutes, the police and ninja , Wu, Skylor, and Pixal showed up.  
The commissioner nodded at Lloyd and then arrested Kane, they got to the car where she was read her rights and Lloyd went to talk to the other ninja.

“What the hell did you do to make her so emotional?” Kai asked Lloyd.

Lloyd thought back to his and Kane’s previous conversation. He knew that if the other ninja found out that everything that Kane did was pointless, they’d go after her. Lloyd knew that if they found out that Zane’s death was in vain, the ninja would turn murderous. It was at that moment that Lloyd decided that the ninja wouldn’t know what he knew.

“I told her that her family was still dead.” Lloyd, “And honestly, I don’t care to deal with anything that has to do with Kane.”

“Ditto.” Nya said.

“What will happen to the squalors?” Pixal asked, “Zhang and Briggs gone, the taskmasters are broken, and the squalors were just the sight of our battle. They are sure to fall back into disarray.”

“No,” Lloyd responded, “we have to make sure that doesn’t. Not just for the people living there, but so that no one like Zhang ever rises to prominence again.”

Skylor shrugged her shoulders, “I can try to set up a noodle shop and factory there. It won’t fix everything but maybe the job opportunity might lower crime rates.”

Lloyd nodded, “It’s a start, but we’ll probably also have to start patrolling over there too.”

“...So what do we do now.” Jay asked.

None of the ninja responded as they saw the police car with the commissioner and Kane drive off.

“Now,” Wu spoke up, “we bury a brother.”

Cole was one of the last to leave Zane’s funeral. In the week that followed since Kane’s arrest, the ninja had tried to put on a small personal funeral for the nindroid. Of course, it got out and that small funeral turned into a city wide day for mourning. Hundreds of civilians had flocked to honor the fallen ninja in the cemetery. Zane had been buried next to his father, per Pixal’s request. Lloyd had given the eulogy and Wu and Pixal spoke of Zane and the man that he was.  
Now, most everyone was gone. The civilians returned to their daily life, Pixal said that she needed some alone time, and the ninja slowly departed. Jay had offered to stay with Cole but the earth ninja just wanted to be alone at the moment. And so, here Cole sat, alone and staring at the grave that housed the charred remains of his brother. Cole thought that he’d be bawling his eyes out, but instead he was tired, depressed, and ripped apart.   
Cole was so focused on his own thoughts that he didn’t even notice a certain talk show host approaching him.

“Do you have a moment Cole?”

Cole turned to see that Kennedy Kurrent was behind him, with an uncharacteristically grim face. He held a microphone and had a cameraman shooting live footage from behind him. If Cole was in his regular state of mind, he would have sent Kennedy flying into the air, along with his cameraman. But Cole was too tired and sad to do that.

“What do you want?” Cole asked, his voice filled with melancholy.

“No tricks Cole.” Kennedy replied, “I just wanted to extend my condolences to you.”

Cole turned around to face Kennedy, “Am I supposed to answer your questions now that you’ve ‘apologized’?”

“No, but we’d appreciate it if you told us how you and the other ninja were handling this tragedy.” Kennedy admitted.

“We’re ninja,” Cole said resentfully, “we can handle anything.”

“And how are you, Cole?” Kennedy hesitantly asked.

Cole slowly shook his head, “I...I lost my brother, how do you think I feel?”

“Rignth, i’m sorry, I can't even begin to understand how you must feel.” Kennedy offered, “I know that you cared about him.”

“I didn’t just care about him,” Cole quietly admitted, “I loved him.”

Kennedy didn’t look too shocked but still leaned in to hear Cole better, “Pardon?”

Cole knew that Kennedy only wanted the scoop but it wasn’t what he was thinking about. Cole was thinking about how he was never completely honest with Zane, now he was gone and Cole had been regretting his secrecy. He never wanted to be dishonest like that again, and that meant that he had to be honest with everyone.

Cole spoke with more confidence, “I loved him.”

Kennedy lowered his microphone, “What do you mean, ‘loved’?”

“You, of all people, know exactly what I mean.” Cole confirmed.

“I believe that I know, but I’d rather not make assumptions.” Kennedy said.

Cole rolled his eyes at the irony of that statement before continuing, “I mean that i’ve spent too much of my life hiding from myself and everyone else.”

“What are you saying?” Kennedy asked.

“I’m saying–” Cole took a deep and shaky breath, “–that I, Cole Blacksmith-Hence, am gay.”

After a few questions, Cole left the funeral and returned to the Monastery. He entered the kitchen and found a rainbow cake sitting on the counter waiting for him. The other ninja walked in and started congratulating him as they had seen his interview on t.v. and heard his confession. Cole would be lying if he said he was a fan of the bright colors but cake was cake. Besides, it was the meaning behind the cake that was important. The ninja pulled Cole into a hug, which was something they all needed after the recent things they had been through. After the group hug, Kia took a moment to ask them all an important question...

Three days later, Jay was sitting down and shaking his right leg out of nervousness. He and Nya were sitting in a therapist office waiting for Jay’s appointment. 

“Everything will be fine Jay.” Nya calmly said.

“I’m sorry,” Jay said.

Nya formed a puzzled look on her face, “Sorry for what?”

“Cole was right, I haven’t been there for you. Kai was in jail and you were hurting and I only thought about myself. I won’t let you down like that again, I have to take responsibility for my part of our relationship and my health.”

Nya smiled at Jay and grabbed his hand as they waited for his name to be called. The bathroom door opened up and Cole walked out to sit back down on Jay’s right side. While Nya was holding Jay’s left hand, Cole found that Jay’s right was gripping him out of nervousness. Cole held Jay’s hand and looked up to his best friend.

“Don’t worry buddy, you’ll be fine.” Cole affirmed.

“Yeah,” Nya added, “these people are only going to try to help you.”

“I’ve heard that one before.” Jay quietly responded.

Nya winced and looked at Cole, who shared her concern. She hated that Jay was still affected by his past, not because he’s refused to get over it, but because it saddened her to know that even after all these years, Jay was still hurting. Hopefully today will be the first step to changing that.

“Don’t worry Jay,” Nya insisted, “remember how we checked the clinic a few days ago? Cole, you, and I all agreed that this was the best clinic in Ninjago.”

“Yeah,” Cole added, “and even then, we’re still here for you.”

Jay looked to his fianceé and his best friend, “I don’t deserve you guys.”

“Jay Walker?” A woman in black slacks and a red shirt asked.

Jay felt his heart drop to the floor and he would’ve booked it out the clinic if Cole and Nya weren’t holding his hands. Still he eyed the door as if it was going to start talking to him.

“Jay Walker?” The woman called out again.

Jay squeezed Nya’s hand and stood up. He wordlessly walked over to the woman the same way a child might hesitantly approach a mall Santa. He reached the woman and turned to face Cole and Nya, who both gave him a smile and a thumbs up. Jay faced the woman and realized that she had been trying to address him.

“You’re Jay?” the woman asked.

Jay wordlessly nodded his head in agreement.

The woman smiled, “Nervous?”

Agin, Jay nodded in agreement.

The woman shook Jay’s hand, “That’s ok, this is a very personal process that makes a lot of people nervous. I’m Jane Douglas, and I'll be your therapist. Would you like to start our appointment?” 

Jay relaxed and followed Jane into their room. Once the door closed, Cole and Nya relaxed back into their chairs. 

“He’s like a giant puppy.” Cole commented.

“Yeah, but in a good way.” Nya responded.

“Yeah, I don’t know what i’d do without him.” Cole said.

“Have less pudding cups to steal?” Nya guessed.

They both laughed and settled down. Nya spoke up to ask a question, “Cole, did Kennedy force you to come out?”

Cole looked down at his shoes and then back at Nya, “No. I just got tired of hiding, you know?”

“Yeah…” Nya answered.

“I just, I never got to tell Zane about that part of me. Now, it’s too late and I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life wishing that I had just told him.”

Nya put her arm around Cole’s shoulder, “I miss him too.”

Cole didn’t want to continue talking about Zane so he changed the subject, “So you wound up changing your mind about killing Zhang and Kane?”

“Yeah, or at least i’m trying to.” Nya responded, “Wu and I are going to start working on my anger issues.”

Nya thought about her talk with Wu, he thought that Nya could find inner peace through guided meditation. Nya would be lying if she said that she wasn’t skeptical but it wouldn’t be the first time that Wu had proven Nya wrong.  
Nya also thought back to the bag Kai had given her earlier. It was a gift meant for Skylor but we wouldn’t be able to give it to her while he was in prison. Nya hoped that her brother wasn’t put away for too long, just long enough to learn his lesson.  
Nya was pulled from her thoughts by Cole’s response.

“Good. That's good.” Cole said.

Jay eventually finished his appointment and Cole went back to the monastery while Nya and Jay went to a dinner date. Cole didn’t know where the other ninja were and he was ok with that, he just wanted to be alone at the moment.   
Cole didn’t mean to find himself in Zane's old room and yet that’s where he ended up. He placed a hand on the knob and hesitated. Cole just wanted to take a look at Zane’s room and there was nothing wrong with that, right? Cole swallowed his concern and walked into Zane’s room, only to find a certain Samurai sitting on the bed and staring into a picture. She saw Cole and looked up at him, her eyes filled with sorrow and sadness.   
Cole felt a mixture of awkwardness and regret. He wanted to give Pixal some space, he also didn’t want to be confronted by Pixal about his feelings for Zane.

“Oh god. Uh, sorry Pixal.” Cole offered as he tried to leave the room.

“Wait.” She called out after the earth ninja.

Cole turned around and Pixal simply uttered, “Please stay.”

Cole nodded and walked to the bed. He sat next to Pixal and they both hugged each other while crying. They stayed there for hours, comforting each other and letting their emotional outbursts take over. They stayed there on the bed, mourning the loss of Zane.

Kai tried to ignore the flashes of the reporters as he looked at the judge that was now addressing him. He knew that this Judge could sentence him for the rest of his life so kai made sure to be on his best behavior.

“Kai Smith,” The judge called out, “you are aware of your charges, correct?”

Kai shifted in his baggy orange jumpsuit before responding, “Yes your honor.”

“And how do you plead?” The judge asked.

“...Guilty, your honor.” Kai stated.

The court and jury let out gasps of surprise while the judge raised an eyebrow, “Guilty? Is that so?”

Kai nodded, “Yes. I did it, I sold the drugs to people of all ages. I was a part of the wolves. I don’t know how many people I got addicted or killed by, but I know that I played my part. And it’s time that I take responsibility for my actions.”

The room was filled with hushed whispers before the judge used his gavel to call attention to the court.

“Well, since Mr. Smith already confessed to the cries he was being accused of, I believe that we can move on to sentencing.” The judge suggested as he looked over his notes, “Normally the charges of drug possession and distribution warrant a three to five year sentence. However, considering your previous efforts to protect the city of Ninjago and your willingness to admit guilt, I will lower your sentence and offer you the opportunity to shorten your sentence even further via the methods of good behavior, being an informant, and job opportunity. Do you understand?”

“Yes your honor.” Kai responded.

“Good. Then I, Judge Morley, find you guilty of drug possession and distribution and hereby sentence you to serve two years at the Ninjago City Prison. Case dismissed.”

Kai was escorted out of the courtroom and was immediately bombarded with questions. His guards had to clear a way for him to get to the police car. Just as with his pre-trial, the cops turned on the radio to the Kennedy Kurrent show as they escorted Kai to the prison.

“Well folks, you’ve heard it here. The fire ninja, in a turn of events, actually confessed to his charges! And to top it off, he received a sentencing of two. As you lovely people might’ve noticed, this is a considerably low sentence for drug dealing.  
Even though the landmark trial just ended, social media is exploring with responses. It just seems that everyone has their own opinions about this shocking turn of events.  
Most people see this ruling as being fit for the fire ninja, stating that he had received the right sentencing as it was justice but also took his heroic career as the fire ninja into consideration. A minority feel that Mr. Smith’s sentencing was too hard with one tweet stating that a ‘few mistakes as a teen doesn’t even come close to damaging the decade of good that the fire ninja has done to protect this city.’ Others thought that Kai Smith’s sentencing was going too easily on him. They thought that doing good doesn’t, or at least shouldn’t, excuse the bad. They also claimed that the Judge had been influenced to be biased toward Mr.smith in order to put him back into a position to protect Ninjago, which of course is a violation of the federal law. In addition, they claimed that had Mr. Smith been a regular citizen, he would have been treated a lot harsher. This raises a bigger, more broad, question of how the justice system treats celebrities vs the way it treats regular civilians.That's a question that I would love to hear your responses to folks. Please let us know at our twitter page and we will read some of those thoughts later on.  
The ninja have refused to comment on Kai’s sentencing. With one of them recently coming out as gay, another one in jail, and the sudden and regretful passing of Zane Julien, the ice ninja, The ninja have certainly had a stressful few weeks. Ninja, if you're hearing this, just know that our thoughts and prayers are with you.  
Anyways, we cover the idea of a biased justice system right after the break so stay tuned in folks!”

Kai tuned out the radio for the rest of his trip. When he got to the prison, he was escorted to the visitors center where Nya, Skylor, and Lloyd were waiting for him. He noted the guard in the room before walking to the phone and picked it up and Nya dropped the bag that Kai gave her in favor of the other phone.

“How are you holding up?” Nya asked her brother.

“Ask me in two years.” Kai said with a smile.

Nya didn’t smile at that, “God, two years? How are you going to handle being here alone?”

“I won’t be alone, i’ll have Dick.” Kai said offhandedly.

Nya dropped her jaw and Kai released what he said, “Jesus christ Nya, Dick is the name of a guy I met.”

Nya collected herself and said, “Oh ok. He’s named Dick? And he’s in prison? That must suck.”

Kai shrugged his shoulders, “Yeah, but he seems pretty cool.”

“Ok, well at least you have someone.” Nya offered.

“Yeah,” Kai responded, “but I know that it’s gonna suck for you too now that i’m gone. After all, you did tell Kennedy that I was your favorite ninja.”

Nya face palmed herself and smiled, she knew that she’d regret saying that. 

Kai waited for her to calm down and said, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Nya replied, “I promise to visit you.”

With that, Nya got up and offered the phone to Lloyd. Lloyd sat down and spoke to the fire ninja.

“I know that it’s too late but, are you sure about this?” Lloyd asked.

“Yes.” Kai answered, “I did some pretty fucked up things and I need to accept the consequences of my action, even if that meant throwing my life away.”

Lloyd smiled at Kai, “I’m proud of you Kai.”

“Well I had a good role model.” Kai replied while looking at the green ninja.

“Two years is a long time. Who knows, maybe i’ll be taller than you when you get out.” Lloyd joked.

“I don’t think so short stuff.” Kai counted, “But when I get out, i’ll be very happy to kick your ass on Prime Empire.”

“Oh, you wish.” Lloyd said, “I’ll wait for you and then we’ll see who wins. But for now, i’m going to focus on my sensei training.” 

“You’ll be a badass sensei.” Kai encouraged.

“Yeah, be safe Kai.” Lloyd stated.

“You too.” Kai countered.

Lloyd got up and handed the phone to Skylor while Nya approached from behind with the bag.

“Five minutes.” The guard called out to Kai.

Kai ignored him and focused on Skylor.

“Hey handsome.” Skylor said as she sat down.

“Are you sure you still want to try this again?” Kai said as he pointed to himself and Skylor, “I’m in prison for two years max.”

Skylor put her hand on the window, “And I'll be right here, waiting for you. I’m not going anywhere, I love you too much for that.”

Kai placed his hand to Skylor’s and replied, “I love you too.”

Kai nodded at Nya, who handed Skylor the bag and said, “I have something for you.”

Skylor took the bag and joked, “What is it, an amber gem?”

She reached into the bag and felt a soft fabric. Skylor took the contents out of the bag and found that it was a clean red gi, kai’s red gi. She looked at Kai with confusion on her face and he asked her one question.

“You can still use my elemental fire right?”

All at once, it clicked in Skylor’s head. She put the gi back into the bag and shook her head in disagreement.

“No.” Skylor stated.

“The team needs a fire ninja, Skylor. And I want you to fill that role.” Kai claimed.

“No, you’re the fire ninja.” Skylor insisted, “I have a noodle business to run and–”

“You ran the noodle business while helping us fight Kane and the taskmasters.” Kai pointed out, “And besides, I already asked the rest of the team and they’re all up for it.”

“But…” Skylor struggled to find a reason not to take Kai up on his offer, “I’m not a ninja.”

“No,” Lloyd said from behind, “which is why I want to mentor you as part of my sensei training.”

“Cone on,” Nya added, “you’re pretty much already part of the team. This would just make it official.”

Skylor was to look convinced but still responded, “I don’t know.”

“Please.” Kai asked, “It’d be the best way for you to watch over Nya like you promised.”

Skylor glared at Kai. He knew that she took promises seriously, “Oh that was sneaky.”

Kai smirked, “So will you do it?”

Skylor looked back at Lloyd and Nya, who both nodded in encouragement, and responded, “Fine, I'll be the fire ninja.”

Kai looked relieved, “Thank you.” 

“Alright, time’s up.” A guard called out.

“You guys be safe.” Kai said before he was pulled to his feet and escorted out the room.

Kai walked down the hallway to his cell and passed by a familiar face. Dick looked at Kai and smiled at him and Kai nodded towards him in return. Kai made it to his cell and walked in. Once the guards locked him in and left, the rest of the prisoners started shouting at him. As they threatened to kill and rape him, Kai realized that, at most, it was going to be a long two years.

Wu walked up to Zane’s grave and sat down into a criss-cross position. He had waited till the cemetery was empty as he believed that saying goodbye was a personal matter between two people. It was lightly raining but Wu embraced its calmness as he pulled out his tea pot and a tea cup. Wu started speaking to Zane’s grave while pouring his tea.

“And so here we are once again, it never gets easier losing you Zane.” Wu said as he took a sip of his tea.

“I could never explain to you how much your loss breaks my heart. Now, all I can do is take comfort in the knowledge that you’re in a better place.”

Wu took another sip of his tea and heard flapping above him. He looked up to see that the falcon was flying up a head.

“I see that we have another friend.” Wu commented as the falcon landed on the grave.

The falcon let out a pained cry and Wu responded, “I understand old friend. It’s always painful to say goodbye to the ones we love.”

Wu took another sip of his tea and continued speaking, “You were the best of us Zane. Your heart knew no bounds and your spirit could lift any soul up. I’m proud of you Zane, just as i am with the rest of the ninja, but now you need to rest.  
You do not have to worry about us Zane, for we will not break apart like we did last time. Things will be different, yes, but we will handle those differences and changes with grace and stride. Do not worry Zane, we will not give up because ninja never quit.”

Wu finished up his cup of tea and said, “Like the other ninja, you need to move on Zane. Your fight is over and you’ve earned your rest.”

Wu packed up his tea set and stood up. He turned around to see that the rain had stopped and a bright orange warmth had come from the now emerging sun. Wu turned around to see the grave of the ice ninja, now accompanied by the falcon.

“Rest easy Zane, you’ve earned it.” Wu said.

With that, Wu walked off into the sunlight of a brand new day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be posting the epilogue later today and will get my final thoughts out during that time.


	16. Epilogue

Outside the Ninjago metropolitan area was a dense and lonely forest. It seldom had visitors and was only a sight for people who occasionally enjoyed the eire forest. On the outskirts of this forest laid a small cabin, a home to a lonely old man.  
Well, he was almost lonely as he scratched behind his dog’s ear. The man finished putting on his shoes and grabbed his scoped hunting rifle before exiting his cabin.

“C’mon Spot.” The old man called out in a gruff voice.

The german shepherd headed his friend’s call and lazily followed him outside. Spot had been more energetic in her prime but those days had long since past. Now, the old dog followed the old man as he set out into the forest to hunt for his dinner. The two friends navigated through the forest as the sun shined brightly. Spot was noticeably more cautious in the forest than she usually was but the old man was too busy tracking a squirrel’s prints to notice. As the old man continued following the tracks, he recapped how he’d gotten to this point in his life.  
He got married and lasted ten years before he and the misses called it quits. The divorce left him in custody with his son and a new bachelor lifestyle. Two years later, he tied the knot again and lived well for nine years before lung cancer took his second wife. Only three years later and his son was taken out by a drunk driver and the old man was left alone. After that, the old man decided to call it quits, left his old construction job, and adopted a puppy, Spot. He moved out here on his one and here they were, eleven years later.  
Spot was the only thing the old man had and she was the only thing he needed. She meant the world to him.  
The old man stopped and noticed a squirrel sitting in the tree. He quietly took aim and pulled the trigger. The body of the squirrel hit the ground and Spot walked over and inspected the dead squirrel while the old man took note of the strange warm air. He focused on the squirrel and saw Spot licking at it.

“Hey, git!” The old man called and Spot walked away from the squirrel. 

The old man had finished bagging up his dinner when Spot started growling towards the deep end of the forest. The old man looked and saw nothing, which didn’t explain why the hairs were standing on the back of his neck. It felt as if the whole forest was holding its breath. The air was warm, and considering that it should be cold due to the lack of sunlight, it was very weird indeed. He felt as if he were being watched by something other than the animals. Finally, the old man noticed that there was next to no noise in the forest, usually the sign of something dangerous. Another one of Spot’s growls brought the old man back to reality and he called to his dog.

“C’mon girl. This place don’t feel right.”

The old man and Spot left the forest and returned home. Spot walked into the cabin and curled up in her bed while the man cleaned the squirrel and started chopping up carrots and potatoes for a stew. He noted his dwindling supplies and resolved to go replenish his supplies at the local general store tomorrow. The old man wolfed down his stew and eased himself into his bed.  
The old man took note of how tiring his days had become. The last couple of weeks had made the old man confront the fact that he was nearing the end of his life, but he was ok with that. The only thing that made the old man pause was his companion. He didn’t want Spot to be left alone out him to keep her company. The old man had hoped that Spot would go around the same time he did, huh, maybe they’d see each other on the other side.  
The man eventually fell asleep when Spot leaped onto his bed and slept right next to him.

The old man was abruptly woken up by Spot’s ferocious barking. He glanced out his window and saw that it was in the early morning, and the sun was still about thirty minutes from rising. Spot was scratching the door while barking like her life depended on it. The old man peered out his window and saw a light in the darkness of the forest. But it wasn’t like a flashlight, it was a small flame like a match. At the sight of the light, Spot went ballistic and started widley running all over the cabin, knocking down the coffee table on it’s side and scattering the mail everywhere.  
The old man grabbed his rifle and tried to look at the light through a scope but couldn’t make out much. He grabbed his old hardhat, and turned on its flashlight. He put it on and approached the door. Spot saw what he was doing and crouched down behind him. The second the old man opened the door, Spot took off towards where the light was.

“Spot!” the old man called out as his companion disappeared into the darkness.

The old man waited a few seconds and then heard the fearful whimpers of Spot. That was all the motivation he needed as he charged into the forest in search of his dog. The old man looked down and found human tracks leading deep into the forest. He knew that there was no sane reason to follow them but another whimper quickly silenced those survival instincts in favor of finding his companion.   
The old man followed the tracks and noted the warm air. The sun was still about fifteen minutes from raising and the old man was deep into the forest.Yet it felt as if the more he ventured, the warmer it got. That must’ve ment that something nearby was letting off a form of warmth. The man released that he was probably being led to whatever was warming the forest. At the same time, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing straight up.   
Eventually the old man reached a clearing and saw a bright, glowing swirl. The rift looked purple and had a mesmerizing aura to it. The old man had never seen anything like it.  
The other thing that the old man noticed was the figure facing the rift. The old man couldn't know who the figure was or what they looked like, just that they were human. Spot was clearly in the figure’s arms as she whined and struggled to get to the old man. 

The old man raised his rifle at the figure, “Drop her. Now!”

The figure stayed still for a couple of seconds before tightening his grip on Spot and walking into the rift.

“SPOT!” The old man called, but it was already too late.

She was gone, disappeared into the rift. The old man approached the rift and held out his hand to it. It wasn’t nearly as warm as he expected it to be, considering how much it was warming up the rest of the forest.   
The old man looked down and made his choice, that dog was the only thing in his life worth living, and he’d be damned if he was going to let Spot go. So the man checked the number of rounds in his rifle and loaded it.  
Then the old man took a deep breath and walked into the rift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I really don't know what to say. First, thank you guys so much for giving me the opportunity to share my story with you. thank you for engaging with me and giving me your insights. Thank you for being there and encouraging me, You guys have no idea how much it means to me. Now, I ask that you do one more thing.
> 
> If you're up for it, then I need you to comment down below and tell me one aspect of the story that could be improved. Whether it's the writing, pacing, dialogue, action, or whatever. Please tell me what you guys feel needs improvement. 
> 
> Once again, thank you, i'll see you guys later!


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